j&*  ^g>  ^  <&m  m>  a 

PUBLISHED    BY 

E.    0.    LIBEY   &    COMPANY, 

Ncs.  76  and  73  Washington  St.,  Bo -ton. 
New  Scries   of  American   Biographies  for  Youth, 

BY    GEORGE    CANNING    HILL. 

THREE  VOLUMES  ALREADY  PUBLISHED. 

THE   LIFE  OF   CAPT.   JOHN  SMITH, 

THE  FOUNDER  OF  VIRGINIA, 

Forms  the  first  volume  of  this  series.  His  life  is  replete 
with  romantic  incidents  ;  and  being  written  m  are  easy  and 
attractive  style  makes  an  instructive  and  entertaining  work 
for  youth. 

LIFE   OF   GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM.. 

<;  OLD  PUT,"  forms  the  second.  Nothing,  in  the  whole 
range  of  story  writing,  is  better  adapted  to  the  taste  of  an 
intelligent  boy  than  the  biography  of  Putnam.  The  hero 
of  Wolfs  Den  and  Horseneck  is  vividly  sketched  in  this- 
beautiful  volume. 


LIFE   OF   BENEDICT   ARNOLD,, 

THE   TRAXTOR,. 

Is  the  third  in  the  series.     A.  book  full  of  interest,  and  the 
only  complete  life  of  Arnold  ever  published. 

It  is  the  design  of  the  author,  and  the  publishers,  in  this 
enterprise,  to  furnish  an  attractive  and  valuable  series  of 
books  for  the  libraries  of  our  American  youth.  The  series, 
when  complete,  will  comprise  ten  or  twelve  volumes. 

[SEE  NEXT  PAGE. 


New  Book?,  Published  by  E.  0.   Libby  &  Company 
NEW   BIOGRAPHICAL  SERIES  FOR  YOUTH. 


The  design  of  the  author,  in  this  series,  is  .well  expressed 
'in  the  Preface,  in  which  he  says :  — 

"The  Author  has  sot  before  himself  the  following  objects  ,  To 
furnish,  from  the  p-iges  of  the  world's  history,  a  few  examples 

iOf  troe  manhood,  lofty  purpose,  and  penevering  effort  such  as 

may  be  safely  held  up  either  for  the  admiration  or  emulation  of 
.the  youth  of  the  present  day  ; 

To  clear  away,  in  his  treatment  of  these  subjects,  whatever 
mistiness  and  imistinoss  may  nave  accumulated  with  time,  about 
them,  presenting  to  the  mental  vision  fresh  ami  living  pictures, 
that  shall  seem  to  be  clothed  with  naturalness,  and  energy,  and 
vitality  ; 

To  oiler  no  less  instruction  to  the  minds,  than  pleasures  to  the 
imaginations  of  the  many  for  whom  he  has  taken  it  in  hand  to 
write  : 

And  more  especially,  perhaps,  to  familiarize  the  youth  of  our 
.day  with  those  striking  and  manly  characters,  that  have  long 
ago  made  their  mark,  deep  and  lasting,  on  the  history  and  for- 
tunes of  the  AMERICAN  CONTINENT." 


NOTICES    OF    THE    PRESS. 

"  We  trust  the  author  will  he  as  prolific  in  his  productions  aa 
Mr.  Abbott,  beside  whose  juvenile  histories  this  new  series  seems 
:  admirably  calculated  to  take  a  place."  —  Boston  Transcript. 

'  Nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  story-writing.is  better  adapted 
to  the  taste  of  an  intelligent  buy  than  the  Biography  of  Putnam." 
—  Boston  Journal. 

"  Certain  to  receive  the  popular  favor."  —  JV.  Y.  Jltlax. 
"Best  style  of  typography  and  binding."  —  Boston  Bee  and 
.  Atlas. 

"  A  parent  can  hardly  do  better  service  for  his  children  than 
to  put  in  their  hands  such  attractive  biographies." —  Christian 
Era. 

"  Written  in  a  style  of  great  clearness  and  simplicity." — Port- 
.'land  Transcript. 

"  Scarcely  less  entertaining  for  young  minds  than  Robinson 
Crusoe  "  —  JVewbvryport  Herald. 

"  Billings,  —  that  prince  of  artists,  will  illustrate  the  scries." 
—  Boston  Correspondent  of  State  Register. 


GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 


("OLD    PUT.") 


BY 


GEORGE  CANNING  HILL. 


B  O  STON: 
E.    O.    LIBBY    AND     COMPANY. 

1858. 


Entered  accordiiig  to  tho  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1858,  by 

E.  O.  LH5HY  &  Co.. 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


E" 


PREFACE. 


THE  author  has  designed  the  present  series  of  Biogra- 
phies more  particularly  for  the  young.  And,  in  pursuing 
his  original  plan  along  to  its  termination,  he  has  set 
before  himself  the  following  objects,  to  which  he  invites 
the  reader's  attention : 

To  furnish  from  the  pages  of  the  world's  history  a  few 
examples  of  true  manhood,  lofty  purpose,  and  persevering 
effort,  such  as  may  be  safely  held  up  either  for  the  admi- 
ration or  emulation  of  the  youth  of  the  present  day ; 

To  clear  away,  in  his  treatment  of  these  subjects,  what- 
ever mistiness  and  mustiness  may  have  accumulated  with 
time  about  them,  presenting  to  the  mental  vision  fresh 
and  living  pictures,  that  shall  seem  to  be  clothed  with 
naturalness,  and  energy,  and  vitality; 

To  offer  no  less  instruction  to  the  minds,  than  pleasure 
to  the  imaginations  of  the  many  for  whom  he  has  taken  it 
in  hand  to  write ; 

And,  more  especially,  perhaps,  to  familiarize  the  youth 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

of  our  day  with  those  striking  and  manly  characters,  that 
have  long  ago  made  their  mark,  deep  and  lasting,  on  the 
history  and  fortunes  of  the  AMERICAN  CONTINENT. 

The  deeds  of  these  men,  it  is  true,  are  to  be  found 
abundantly  recorded  in  Histories;  but  they  lie  so  scat- 
tered along  their  ten  thousand  pages,  and  are  so  inter- 
mixed with  the  voluminous  records  of  other  matters,  as  to 
be  practically  out  of  the  reach  of  the  younger  portion  of 
readers,  and  so  of  the  very  ones  for  whom  this  series  has 
been  undertaken.  These  want  only  pictures  of  actual 
life  ;  and,  if  the  author  shall,  in  any  due  degree,  succeed 
even  in  sketching  interesting  outlines,  he  will  feel  that  ho 
is  answering  the  very  purpose  that  has  long  lain  unper- 
formed within  his  heart. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE. 
EARLY  LIFE, 9 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    FRENCH   WAR, 28 

CHAPTER  III. 

CONTINUATION  OF   THE   FRENCH   WAR,          ....        49 

CHAPTER    IV 

CAMPAIGN   OF    1758,       .  .  .       . 69 

CHAPTER    V. 

END   OF   THE   FRENCH    WAR, 95 

CHAPTER    VI. 

OPENING    OF    THE    REVOLUTION, 108 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

PAGE. 

BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL, 135 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

SIEGE    OF   BOSTON 162 

CHAPTER   IX. 

OPERATIONS    IN   NEW    YORK 179 

CHAPTER    X. 

RETREAT    OF    THE    AMERICAN   ARMY,  .  .  .  .198 

CHAPTER    XI. 

IN   THE    HIGHLANDS,      ..'.•...      220 

CHAPTER    XII. 

PUTNAM   AT    WEST    POINT    AND    DANBURY,  .  .  .      244 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

HIS   LAST   DAYS,  .  ...,«..      258 


GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 


CHAPTER    I. 

EARLY   LIFE. 

ALMOST  every  popular  favorite  has  his 
nickname.  They  called  General  Jackson 
"  Old  Hickory  ; "  General  Taylor  was 
known  everywhere  through  the  camp  by  the 
name  of  "  Old  Zack  ; "  and,  not  to  interpose  too 
many  instances  between  our  own  times  and  his, 
General  Israel  Putnam,  of  Revolutionary  mem- 
ory, was  better  known  by  the  whole  army  under 
the  familiar  title  of  "  Old  Put "  than  either  by  the 
military  rank  he  had  honestly  earned,  or  the 
simple  Scriptural  name  his  father  and  mother 
gave  him. 

Israel  Putnam  was  a  marked  character  in 
days  when  it  would  appear  as  if  almost  every 
man  stood  out  as  an  exemplar.  He  lived  in  stir- 


10  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

ring  times,  and  was  not  a  whit  behind  the  rest  in 
helping  to  create  the  stir.  Few  among  the  long 
roll  of  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution,  addressed 
themselves  to  the  great  questions,  as  they  came 
up,  with  greater  zeal  than  he,  or  with  a  more 
stout  and  rugged  determination  to  secure  peace 
on  the  basis  of  simple  justice.  It  must  be 
allowed,  too,  that  he  had  a  strong  love  for  adven- 
ture in  his  nature,  and  was  as  ready  at  any  time 
for  a  warlike  foray,  or  a  dangerous  expedition 
into  a  wilderness  swarming  with  Indians,  as  he 
was  for  a  frolic  at  harvest-time,  or  an  exciting 
\\olf-huntwith  the  young  farmers  in  midwinter. 
The  life  of  Putnam  was  a  romance  almost  from 
the  beginning;  yet  no  one  was  apparently  better 
contented  than  he  amid  the  peaceful  scenes  of  the 
country  life  of  those  days,  or  enjoyed  himself 
more  in  the  quiet  atmosphere  of  his  farm,  his 
home,  and  his  friends.  In  this  respect  he  might 
be  said,  like  some  other  men,  to  have  had  two 
natures :  one  continually  exciting  him  to  action 
and  deeds  of  boldness  and  bravery,  and  the  other 
tempering  him  down  to  the  Tone  of  those  homely, 
every-day  joys  that,  after  all,  are  the  richest 
resources  a  man's  heart  ever  knows. 


EARLY   LIFE.  11 

Israel  Putnam  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  on 
the  7th  day  of  January,  1718.  His  mother  had 
twelve  children,  of  whom  he  was  the  eleventh 
in  order.  The  house  still  stands  in  which  he 
was  born,  and  is  exactly  half-way,  on  the  turn- 
pike, between  Newburyport  and  Boston.  The 
family  emigrated  from  one  of  the  southern  coun- 
ties of  England,  in  the  year  1634,  and  settled 
in  that  part  of  Salem,  known  as  Danvers.  The 
original  family  name  was  spelled  Puttenham, 
instead  of  Putnam.  Israel  was  the  great-grand- 
son of  the  one  who  first  planted  the  name  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  Mr.  John  Putnam ;  his 
father's  Christian  name  being  Joseph,  his  grand- 
father's Thomas,  and  his  great-grandfather's  John 
as  just  mentioned.  He  was  a  courageous  boy, 
and  many  daring  acts  of  his  youth  are  preserved 
by  tradition  among  the  different  branches  of  the 
old  family  stock.  He  loved  adventure  and  ex- 
citement, and  was  apt  to  be  foremost  in  those 
bold  and  reckless  undertakings  for  which  boys 
are  generally  so  read^  His  early  education  was 
limited,  as  one  must  readily  infer  when  he 
reflects  that  schools  of  any  kind  were  not  a 
common  privilege  in  those  days.  The  popula- 


12  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

tion  was  very  much  scattered,  instead  of  being 
gathered  into  towns  and  villages  as  now,  and 
good  schools  would  have  been  quite  difficult  to 
support.  Besides,  as  he  was  brought  up,  the 
most  of  his  time  was  required  on  the  farm,  help- 
ing about  the  regular  work  in  such  ways  as  boys 
of  his  age  are  taught  and  expected  to  do.  Had 
his  education  been  different  when  he  was  young, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  wrought 
with  a  still  wider  influence  on  the  minds  of  the 
men  of  the  Revolution.  But  it  was  sufficient 
proof  of  his  inherent  strength  and  greatness,  that 
he  rose,  as  he  did,  superior  to  all  the  obstacles 
that  were  thrown  in  his  path,  and  wrote  his  own 
name  legibly  on  the  page  of  his  country's  his- 
tory It  is  not  every  man,  even  with  the  aid  of 
many  more  advantages  than  he  enjoyed,  who 
succeeds  in  doing  what  he  did  for  his  country- 
men and  himself. 

We  said  that  he  was  courageous,  and  some- 
times reckless,  when  a  boy ;  but.  his  disposition 
was  not  quarrelsome.  Wl^n  he  was  assailed,  he 
stood  his  ground  without  flinching;  but  he  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  picking  quarrels  with  any  one. 
When  he  went  up  to  Boston  for  the  first  time  in 


EARLY   LIFE.  13 

his  life,  one  of  the  young  town-fellows,  a  great 
deal  older  and  bigger  than  himself,  saw  him 
coming  along  the  street  in  his  dress  of  plain 
homespun,  staring  at  the  signs  and  the  windows, 
and  taken  up,  as  almost  every  true  rustic  is,  at 
least  once,  with  what  he  saw  and  heard  around 
him ;  and,  thinking  to  have  some  fun  out  of  the 
country  fellow,  he  taunted  him  with  his  dress, 
his  gait,  his  manners,  and  his  general  appearance. 
Young  Putnam  bore  it  as  well  and  as  long  as  he 
could.  He  looked  around  and  saw  that  a  crowd 
had  collected,  who  seemed  to  be  enjoying  them- 
selves at  his  expense.  His  blood  rose  at  length, 
and  he  determined  to  submit  no  longer.  Sud- 
denly he  turned  upon  the  ill-mannered  city  youth, 
and  gave  him  such  a  thorough  flogging  on  the 
spot  as  not  only  silenced  his  impudence,  but  like- 
wise drew  forth  the  instant  admiration  of  the 
crowd,  who  were,  but  a  moment  before,  so  wil- 
ling to  enjoy  his  own  humiliation.  This  single 
little  affair  was  wholly  characteristic  of  the  man, 
as  he  afterwards  showed  himself  on  a  wider 
theatre. 

Very   few   incidents    of    a    well-defined    and 
authentic  nature,  have  come  down  to  us  in  illus- 
2 


14  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

tration  of  the  boyhood  of  Putnam  ;  indeed,  when 
we  consider  that  he  was  nothing  more  than  a 
plain  farmer's  boy,  of  whom  no  one  ever  thought, 
except  as  other  boys  were  commonly  thought  of, 
whose  advantages  were  few,  and  whose  educa- 
tion was  limited,  who  had  no  other  aim  in  life 
than  simply  to  do  his  work  well  and  make  as 
respectable  a  man  as  his  father  before  him,  —  it 
is  evident  that  few  facts  could  have  accumulated 
at  the  most,  going  to  show  his  native  superiority 
to  anybody  else  of  his  own  age  and  condition. 
It  was  after  he  made  himself  conspicuous  in  the 
eyes  of  his  countrymen,  that  his  relatives  began  to 
collect  such  scanty  materials  relating  to  his  youth 
as  family  tradition  chanced  to  have  handed 
down  ;  not  happening  to  have  been  born  great, 
or  renowned,  of  course  no  record  was  kept  of 
those  early  years  before  he  achieved  for  himself 
what  he  afterwards  so  honorably  did  achieve. 

He  was  twenty-one  years  old  when  he  was 
married,  which  event  occurred  in  the  year  1739. 
His  wife  was  Miss  Hannah  Pope,  whose  father 
—  Mr.  John  Pope  —  lived  in  Salem  also;  and 
their  family  afterwards  counted  four  sons  and  six 
daughters.  The  year  after  he  married,  he  emi- 


EARLY   LIFE.  15 

grated  from  Salem  to  the  town  of  Pomfret,  in 
Connecticut,  where  he  had  bought  a  tract  of  land 
for  the  purpose.  The  part  of  Pomfret  in  which 
he  settled  is  now  included  in  the  pleasant  little 
inland  town  of  Brooklyn  ;  and  the  outlines  of  the 
foundation  of  his  house  are  still  to  be  distinctly 
traced  in  the  turf,  together  with  the  raised  walk 
up  to  the  door.  The  well  he  digged  is  yet 
pointed  out,  though  it  is  not  at  present  used  ;  and 
in  one  of  the  old  elm  trees  that  stood  before  his 
door,  are  the  iron  staples  on  which  he  hung  the 
tavern  sign,  just  before  the  Revolutionary  days, 
to  inform  travellers  that  he  could  temporarily 
entertain  both  themselves  and  their  beasts. 

There  was  no  better  farmer  in  his  day,  the 
whole  country  round,  than  young  Mr.  Israel  Put- 
nam proved  himself  to  be.  He  opened  new  and 
uncultivated  lands  ;  built  good  walls  and  fences ; 
stocked  his  pastures  ;  planted  his  orchards  ; 
erected  a  comfortable  and  most  delightful  home- 
stead ;  and,  by  his  thrift,  industry,  and  true  agri- 
cultural taste,  succeeded,  in  a  short  time,  in 
establishing  himself  as  a  well-to-do  and  most 
successful  farmer.  He  had  a  young  family  brood 
growing  up  about  him.  His  herds  and  flocks 


16  GEN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

increased  and  multiplied.  He  found  that  his 
land  was  especially  adapted  to  the  raising  of 
sheep,  and,  accordingly,  he  bent  his  energies  to 
the  production  of  wool.  So  successful  was  he 
in  this  enterprise  in  a  brief  period  of  time,  that 
he  was  popularly  reckoned  one  of  the  largest, 
wool  growers  of  the  country,  and  his  profits 
accumulated  at  a  rate  that  soon  put  him  in  cir- 
cumstances beyond  the  possible  reach  of  poverty 
or  want. 

It  was  owing  altogether  to  his  having  taken  so 
extensive  an  interest  in  the  raising  of  sheep,  that 
his  adventure  with  the  wolf  became  a  piece  of 
history.  During  several  seasons  he  seemed  to 
have  suffered  from  rather  hard  luck,  both  in  his 
crops  and  his  live  stock  ;  what  with  drought,  and 
dry-rot,  and  hard  winters,  he  felt  that  his  losses, 
continued  through  several  ensuing  years,  were 
quite  as  large  as  he  felt  able  to  submit  to.  But 
when  it  came  to  the  losses  in  his  sheep-fold, 
which  were  more  and  more  severe  every  winter, 
he  roused  himself  to  see  if  the  mischief  could  not 
by  some  means  be  stopped  where  it  was.  It  was 
pretty  conclusively  proved  that  the  work  of 
slaughter  "was  performed  by  a  single  she-wolf, 


EARLY   LIFE.  17 

who,  with  her  new  family  of  whelps  every  year, 
came  from  a  long  distance  to  get  her  regular 
winter's  living  off  the  fatlings  of  his  hill  sides  and 
pastures.  Nor  was  he  the  only  sufferer  by  her 
bold  depredations.  Nearly  all  the  neighboring 
farmers  were  forced  to  submit  to  these  losses,  as 
well  as  himself,  and  they  were  quite  ready  to 
undertake,  with  him,  the  destruction  of  the  raven- 
ous creature  who  was  committing  such  a  general 
havoc. 

This  she-wolf  was  an  old  jade,  and  very  sly 
and  shrewd  withal.  Almost  every  year  the 
hunters,  with  their  dogs,  had  fallen  in  with  some 
of  her  whelps,  and  made  an  end  of  them  on  the 
spot ;  but  they  never  could  manage  to  come  upon 
her  in  a  position  from  which  she  did  not  possess 
the  cunning  to  somehow  escape.  Once  they  had 
succeeded  in  getting  her  to  put  her  foot  into 
their  steel-trap  ;  but  rather  than  wait  for  them  to 
come  to  a  final  settlement  with  her  for  her  many 
crimes,  she  concluded  she  had  better  lose  her  toes 
and  make  the  best  of  her  way  off  without  them. 
She  preferred  to  sacrifice  these,  and  so  save  her 
skin  whole. 

Putnam   got   together   five   of  his   neighbors, 


18  GEN.  ISRAEL  PLTNAM. 

therefore,  and  laid  before  them  his  proposal  to 
hunt  the  old  wolf  down  ;  not  to  give  her  any 
farther  rest  or  peace  until  they  got  her  into  a 
place  from  which  there  could  be  no  escape.  The 
arrangement  was,  that  they  were  to  take  turns  at 
the  business,  two  at  a  time,  and  follow  her  up  day 
and  night,  till  she  was  traced  to  her  den,  unless 
they  might  have  the  good  luck  to  destroy  her 
before  she  reached  it.  It  was  early  in  the  winter 
when  the  pursuit  began,  and,  as  it  happened,  a 
light  snow  had  fallen  to  aid  them  in  their  design. 
The  clipped  toes  of  one  of  the  creature's  feet, 
too,  would  assist  the  hunters  in  following  her 
track,  of  which  fact  they  were  not  slow  to  take 
advantage. 

They  came  upon  her  footprints,  after  a  time, 
and  pursued  her  along  by  this  single  mark  of  the 
lost  toes  through  the  country  to  the  Connecticut 
river ;  showing  that  she  was  at  least  an  extensive 
traveller.  Reaching  the  river's  bank,  and  rinding 
her  course  thus  intercepted,  back  she  started 
again  for  Pomfret.  The  hunters  were  close  upon 
her,  and  readily  found  where  she  had  doubled 
upon  herself.  They  pressed  on  as  hastily  as  they 
could,  over  hill  and  through  vale,  pushing  through 


EARLY  LIFE.  19 

swamps  and  wooded  places  after  her,  as  if  noth- 
ing had  stood  in  her  way.  At  an  early  hour  on 
the  second  morning  after  setting  out,  they  had 
succeeded  in  driving  her  into  her  den  in  a  rocky 
ledge,  situated  some  three  miles  to  the  north  from 
Putnam's  house,  and  within  the  limits  of  the 
town  of  Pomfret 

She  was  carefully  watched  by  one  of  the  men, 
while  the  other  went  to  give  the  alarm  to  the 
farmers  around.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
woods  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cave  were  swarming 
with  the  male  inhabitants  of  the  town,  including 
a  pretty  large  sprinkling  of  boys.  They  brought 
along  with  them  a  liberal  supply  of  dogs,  guns, 
straw,  and  sulphur,  prepared  to  smoke  her  out, 
burn  her  out,  punch  her  out,  or,  in  any  event,  to 
shoot  her.  The  shouting  and  the  clamor  re- 
sounded a  great  ways  from  the  steep  hill-side 
where  the  transaction  took  place,  as  if  they  had 
come  with  the  intention  to  make  a  good  time  of 
it.  The  boys,  in  particular,  were  delighted  with 
the  prospect  of  the  fun  there  was  ahead,  and 
kicked  and  capered  about  in  the  exuberance  of 
their  spirits.  It  was  a  great  thing  for  them  to  be 
allowed  to  take  a  part  in  such  sport  with  their 
elders. 


20  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

After  a  council  of  war  had  been  held,  and  a 
close  scrutiny  of  the  retreat  chosen  by  their 
crafty  enemy  had  been  indulged  in,  it  was  gene- 
rally concluded  that  the  wolf  was  not  such  a 
great  fool  in  going  into  this  cavity  as  they  might 
have  thought  her.  She  was,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  in  her  fortress.  How  should  they  go  to 
work  to  get  her  out  ?  At  first  they  tried  tantali- 
zation,  —  sending  in  their  dogs,  who  carne  out 
again  yelping  and  crying,  with  lacerated  skins, 
and  torn  and  bloody  noses,  showing  how  skil- 
fully she  had  used  her  claws  in  her  own  defence. 
They  could  not  prevail  on  the  dogs  that  had  tried 
the  entrance  once,  to  go  in  the  second  time.  So 
they  next  hit  upon  the  plan  to  stuff  in  lighted 
bundles  of  straw,  sprinkled  liberally  with  sulphur, 
hoping  thus  to  smoke  her  out.  They  very  truly 
argued  that,  if  she  could  stand  that,  she  must  be 
too  much  for  them  to  think  of  attacking.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  straw  was  piled  in,  and  set  on  lire. 
The  dense  volumes  of  smoke  rose  and  rolled 
slowly  into  the  cave,  and  they  thought  they  were 
going  to  secure  their  game  this  time  without  any 
further  trouble.  But  they  looked,  and  continued 
to  look  in  vain  for  the  appearance  of  anything 


EARLY   LIFE.  21 

like  a  wolf.  The  smoke  could  not  have  reached 
her  ;  or,  if  it  did,  it  failed  to  have  the  effect  upon 
her  they  had  calculated. 

Time  was  wearing  on  in  this  way,  and  nothing 
seemed  likely  to  come  of  all  their  labor  at  last. 
It  wanted  now  but  about  a  couple  of  hours  to 
midnight.  They  were  not  willing  to  go  home 
and  leave  their  dreaded  enemy  where  she  was, 
unharmed,  and  free  to  repeat  her  bloody  mischief. 
Again  they  tried  to  coax  the  dogs  to  go  in ;  but 
they  could  not  so  readily  make  the  animals  forget 
the  rough  treatment  they  had  received  on  a 
previous  visit.  Israel  Putnam  felt  the  need  of 
some  one's  making  a  decisive  movement,  lest  the 
matter  should  fall  through  entirely.  He  therefore 
ordered  a  man-servant  to  undertake  the  step 
needed;  but  he  declined  very  positively.  An 
appeal  was  made  to  the  whole  company  present, 
to  know  if  there  was  any  one  who  dared  under- 
take this  most  undesirable  piece  of  business;  but 
the  appeal  was  made  in  vain.  Neither  man  nor 
hoy  was  willing  to  risk  his  life  in  an  encounter 
\vnh  a  mad  animal  at  the  further  end  of  a  sub- 
terranean ca,ve,  which  had  already  shown  such  a 
disposition  to  stand  her  ground  and  face  her 
opponents  down  at  any  hazard. 


22  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Finally  it  became  difficult  to  endure  this  state 
of  suspense  any  longer,  and  Putnam  took  his 
resolution.  It  was  a  bold,  and  no  doubt  a  very 
reckless  one;  but  when  he  considered,  in  a  llar-h 
of  his  thought,  the  amount  of  the  losses  incurred 
by  his  neighbors  as  well  as  himself,  from  the  de- 
predations of  this  ravenous  wild  beast,  he  won- 
dered how  it  was  possible  for  any  one  to  hesitate. 
1  le  declared  he  would  go  down  and  meet  the  old 
wolf  himself.  The  farmers  were  overwhelmed 
with  astonishment,  and  tried  to  dissuade  him 
from  carrying  out  his  rash  purpose.  But  all  they 
could  say  had  no  effect  whatever  upon  him. 
He  was  determined  to  put  an  end  to  the  ex- 
istence of  the  wolf,  and  to  do  it  on  that  very 
night. 

Well  aware  of  the  fear  inspired  in  a  wild 
animal  by  the  sight  of  fire,  he  provided  himself 
with  a  large  quantity  of  birch  bark,  torn  into 
shreds,  before  going  into  the.  cave,  and  lighted  a 
sufficient  number  for  his  immediate  purpose. 
These  furnished  all  the  light  he  had  by  which  to 
guide  himself  along  the  winding  passages  of  the 
rocky  cavern.  Stripping  off  his  coat  and  waist- 
coat, with  a  lighted  torch  in  one  hand,  he  entered 


EARLY  LIFE.  23 

the  dark  aperture  at  near  midnight,  crawling 
slowly  upon  his  hands  and  knees. 

The  mouth  of  the  wolf's  den  was  about  two 
feet  square.  From  this  point  it  proceeds  down- 
wards about  fifteen  feet,  then  it  runs  horizontally 
for  some  ten  feet  more,  and  afterwards  it  ascends 
very  easily  for  sixteen  feet  towards  its  termina- 
tion. The  sides  of  the  cave  are  of  solid  rock,  and 
quite  smooth ;  the  top  and  bottom  are  of  the 
same  material ;  it  is  but  three  feet  in  width,  and 
in  no  part  can  a  man  stand  upright.  Putnam 
groped  his  way  along  by  the  aid  of  his  flaring 
arid  smoking  torches,  until  he  reached  the  level 
portion  of  the  cavity.  All  was  still  as  a  tomb, 
and  his  feeble  torchlight  was  able  to  penetrate 
but  a  little  distance  into  the  surrounding  gloom. 
He  was  obliged  to  advance  but  slowly,  and  every 
few  moments  it  became  necessary  for  him  to 
renew  his  torch,  which  he  did  with  the  greatest 
care,  lest  it  might  go  out  in  the  lighting,  and  he 
be  left  in  the  profoundest  darkness. 

After  creeping  over  the  ten  feet  of  the  level 
portion  of  the  cave,  he  came  to  the  ascent.  On- 
ward he  dragged  his  slow  and  toilsome  way,  till 
his  progress  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  sight 


24  GEN.  ISRAEL  PTTTXAM. 

of  a  pair  of  glaring  eyeballs  at  the  very  extremity 
of  the  cavern.  There  sat  the  old  wolf  herself; 
and,  as  she  saw  the  flash  of  the  torch  he  carried 
in  his  hand,  she  gnashed  her  teeth  and  utteied  a 
low  and  threatening  growl.  The  brave  and  ven- 
turesome young  farmer  took  a  hasty  view  of 
things  in  the  cave,  and  then  gave  a  kick  at  the 
rope  which  his  friends  had  tied  about  one  of  his 
legs  before  he  made  the  descent,  by  way  of  pre- 
caution. Fearing  that  the  worst  had  befallen 
him,  they  pulled  more  excitedly  at  the  rope  than 
was  necessary;  and,  before  he  could  have  pro- 
tested against  such  rough  treatment,  he  found 
himself  dragged  out  upon  the  ground  before  the 
mouth  of  the  cave,  with  "  his  shirt  stripped  over 
his  head,  and  his  skin  severely  lacerated."  They 
had  heard  the  growl  of  the  wolf  outside,  and 
feared  that  he  was  involved  in  a  struggle  with 
her  for  life  or  death.  Besides,  it  was  known  that 
he  had  carried  no  weapons  into  the  cave  with 
him,  and  they  were  more  solicitous  on  that 
account. 

This  time,  however,  he  loaded  his  gun,  took 
more  torches,  and  went  down  better  prepared  for 
the  encounter.  He  knew  his  way  along  of  course 


EARLY  LIFE.  25 

better  than  before  ;  but  he  was  now  burdened 
with  his  musket.  When  he  came  in  sight  of  the 
wolf  again,  she  was  in  the  same  place  and  posi- 
tion, but  appeared  a  great  deal  more  dissatisfied 
with  his  company.  The  account  of  his  early  • 
biographer  and  personal  friend  states  that  she 
wore  an  aspect  of  great  fierceness :  '•'  howling, 
rolling  her  eyes,  snapping  her  teeth,  and  dropping 
her  head  between  her  legs.  She  was  evidently  in 
the  attitude,  and  on  the  point  of  springing  at  her 
assailant.  At  that  critical  moment  he  levelled 
his  piece,  aiming  directly  at  her  head,  and  fired, 
^tunned  with  the  shock,  and  suffocated  with  the 
smoke  of  the  powder,  he  immediately  found 
himself  drawn  out  of  the  cave."  But  this  time 
his  friends  took  a  little  more  care  not  to  strip  his 
shirt  over  his  shoulders,  nor  to  tear  his  skin 
against  the  jagged  edges  of  the  rock. 

He  allowed  a  few  moments  for  the  smoke  to 
escape  from  the  chambers  of  the  cavern,  and  then 
went  in  again  to  secure  his  prize.  On  examina- 
tion he  found  his  old  enemy  lying  dead  on  the 
floor  of  the  cave  at  its  further  extremity,  in  a 
pool  of  blood.  He  had  taken  aim  to  some  pur- 
pose. In  order  to  satisfy  himself  that  she  was 
3 


26  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

really  dead,  he  applied  his  torch  to  her  nose ;  she 
made  no  signs  of  life.  Accordingly,  he  seized 
her  by  her  ears,  gave  the  rope  around  his  leg  an 
exulting  kick,  and  out  he  went,  with  his  precious 
prize  dragging  after  him,  into  the  midst  of  the 
crowd  at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  \vlio  showered 
their  praises  and  congratulations  upon  him  with- 
out stint.  They  sent  up  a  shout  of  delight  that 
filled  the  wintry  woods  with  its  echoes.  Their 
arch  enemy  at  length  lay  stretched  out  stark  and 
stiff  at  their  feet. 

From  that  hour,  Israel  Putnam  was  a  hero  in 
the  eyes  and  mouth  of  everybody.  He  came 
very  soon  to  be  known  far  and  wide  as  the  slayer 
of  the  old  she-wolf  that  had  made  such  havoc 
with  the  farmers'  folds,  and  people  loved  to  re- 
peat a  story  that  had  such  decided  elements  of 
romance  and  daring  in  it;  for  it  excited  them 
quite  as  much  in  the  telling  as  it  did  others  in 
the  hearing.  The  story  grew,  too,  as  it  travelled, 
and  Putnam's  fame  of  course  grew  along  with  it. 
He  was  known  among  the  officers  of  the  army, 
with  whom  he  fought  during  the  Seven  Years' 
War,  as  "  the  Old  Wolf ; "  and  his  fame  reached 
England  through  the  aid  of  the  public  journals, 


EARLY   LIFE.  27 

which  are  generally  not  behind   in   chronicling 
such  a  truly  bold  and  daring  adventure. 

The  dozen  years  that  Putnam  followed  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  a  farmer,  between  this 
notable  event  and  the  breaking  out  of  the  French 
war,  he  industriously  made  the  most  of.  In  that 
time,  by  his  thrifty  management,  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  permanent  and  abundant  fortune, 
for  those  days  of  simplicity,  and  provided  for 
those  wants,  which  otherwise  must  have  been  un- 
provided for  entirely,  appertaining  to  advanced 
age  and  a  life  generously  spent  in  behalf  of  the 
liberties  of  his  country.  When  he  retired  from 
public  service  altogether,  it  was  a  comfortable 
reflection  for  him  that  he  had  a  good  home  to 
which  to  withdraw  his  weary  self,  where  he  might 
pass  his  latest  years  unreached  by  the  gripe  of 
poverty  and  want,  and  secure  in  the  friendship 
and  affection  of  the  happy  family  group  that 
there  budded  and  blossomed  like  beautiful  plants 
around  him. 


CHAPTER     II. 

THE    FRENCH    WAR. 

THE  struggle  between  the  English  and  the 
French  for  the  mastery  of  this  continent, de- 
serves more  than  the  mere  allusion  to  it  as 
an  historical  fact,  which  is  all  we  are  able  in  this 
place  to  give.  The  Indians  that  swarmed  in  the 
northern  forests,  and  about  the  lakes  and  streams, 
were,  the  greater  part  of  them,  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  the  French,  and  showed  themselves  ready 
to  perform  any  of  those  barbarities  that  were 
asked  of  them  in  the  wild  excitement  of  the 
times.  These  Indians  were  the  worst  foes  that 
ever  white  men  were  forced  to  meet.  They  were 
stealthy  and  secret ;  they  skulked  and  hid  in 
every  nook  and  corner;  they  started  out  unex- 
pectedly from  every  tree  in  the  forest.  In  their 
dispositions  they  were  vindictive  and  remorseless ; 
they  would  fight  for  pay  rather  than  from  friend- 


THE   FRENCH    WAT?.  29 

ship,  and  hence  employed  both  the  tomahawk 
and  the  scalping-knife  without  either  measure  or 
mercy.  Such  an  enemy  was  a  thousand  times 
more  dangerous  to  encounter  than  an  open 
enemy;  because  the  English  were  at  no  time 
certain  that  he  would  not  come  upon  them  when 
they  were  least  expecting  it. 

It  required  unusually  prudent,  sagacious,  and 
brave  men  to  officer  a  force  that  should  be  sent 
out  to  meet  an  enemy,  too,  with  such  an  ally. 
Hence,  the  colonial  governments  were  frequently 
at  a  loss  how  to  act,  so  as  not  to  compromise 
tlje  safety  of  the  people  for  whom  they  were 
authorized  to  act. 

This  so-called  French  War  began  in  the  year 
1755,  with  three  separate  military  expeditions : 
one  of  General  Shirley  against  Fort,  Niagara;  one 
of  General  Braddock,  against  Fort  Duquesne ; 
and  a  third  of  Sir  William  Johnson  against 
Baron  Dieskau,  at  Fort  Edward,  situated  on  Lake 
George.  This  last  had  a  successful  termination ; 
the  others  were  fruitless  and  unfortunate.  Israel 
Putnam  received  an  appointment  to  the  captaincy 
of  a  company  of  provincial  soldiers,  volunteers  of 

Connecticut,  and  this  company  composed  a  part 
3* 


30  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

of  the  regiment  under  command  of  General 
Lyman.  Everybody  knew  Putnam  for  a  fearless 
and  trusty  man ;  and  although  it  is  positive  that 
he  had  had  no  previous  military  experience,  yet 
his  winning  frankness  and  hearty  honesty  soon 
attracted  to  his  standard  a  crowd  of  the  finest 
young  men  the  whole  colony  afforded.  It  was  a 
deserved  compliment  to  such  a  man,  and  he 
would  certainly  have  been  the  last  one  to  betray 
the  high  confidence  thus  reposed  in  him. 

The  expedition,  of  which  his  company  and 
regiment  formed  a  part,  had  for  its  object  the 
reduction  of  Crown  Point,  a  fortified  place  on 
Lake  Champlain.  Massachusetts  Colony  started 
the  project,  and  she,  together  with  Connecticut 
and  New  York,  was  determined  to  carry  it  out, 
if  possible,  to  success.  The  command  of  the 
entire  expedition  was  given  to  General  William 
Johnson,  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  New 
York  Colony,  and  the  troops  were  to  collect  at 
Albany  as  a  central  ddpot.  It  was  late  in  June 
when  they  assembled.  Early  in  August  they 
began  to  move  forward,  and  reached  the  point 
from  which  all  the  necessary  accompaniments  of 
warlike  operations  were  to  be  transported  across 


THE   FRENCH   WAK.  31 

the  land  to  Lake  George.  Gen.  Lyman  had 
already  begun  to  erect  a  fortification  at  this 
point,  which  went  by  the  name  of  Fort  Edward. 

Later  in  August,  the  main  body  of  the  army 
took  up  its  march,  and  pressed  on  till  it  reached 
the  southern  point  of  Lake  George.  It  was 
learned  from  Indian  scouts  that  a  large  body  of 
French  and  Indians  were  stationed  at  Ticonde- 
roga,  since  become  an  immortal  name,  which  is 
the  point  at  which  Lake  George  empties,  with  its 
thundering  sound,  into  Lake  Champlain.  They 
had  not  yet  thrown  up  any  works  there,  and 
Johnson  therefore  felt  more  desirous  to  proceed 
as  soon  as  possible,  with  a  part  of  his  army,  and 
seize  the  place  before  they  could  recover  suffi- 
ciently from  their  astonishment  at  his  appear- 
ance, to  make  a  proper  defence. 

But  Baron  Dieskau,  the  French  commander, 
had,  in  the  meantime,  become  apprised  of  the 
position  and  projects  of  the  provincial  forces  at 
Fort  Edward,  and  hastened  to  attack  them  before 
their  works  were  all  completed.  If  he  could  suc- 
ceed in  this  plan,  it  was  then  his  determination  to 
move  down  upon  Albany,  and  the  other  towns 
within  reach,  and  lay  them  waste  with  all  pos- 


32  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

sible  celerity.  Accordingly,  he  took  two  thou- 
sand men  \viih  him  from  Crown  Point,  and,  hind- 
ing  at  South  Bay,  started  across  the  land  for 
Fort  Edward.  He  even  kept  the  design  of  this 
movement  a  secret  until  he  had  come  within  a 
couple  of  miles  of  the  provincial  forces.  When 
he  at  length  made  his  plans  known,  the  Indians 
murmured,  declaring  they  never  would  fight 
against  the  cannon  and  musketry  of  the  English. 
This  obliged  him,  therefore,  to  change  his  pur- 
pose, and  he  pushed  on  towards  the  north,  to  sur- 
prise the  English  at  the  southern  point  of  Lake 
George.  General  Johnson  was  in  command 
there,  as  already  stated.  His  scouts  came  into 
camp  and  informed  him  of  the  approach  of 
Dieskau,  with  his  Canadian  and  Indian  allies. 

It  was  at  once  determined  to  send  forward  a 
detachment  to  meet  them,  and  offer  them  battle. 
Col.  Williams  commanded  the  entire  body,  which 
consisted  of  a  thousand  provincials  and  about 
two  hundred  friendly  Indians.  They  came  upon 
the  French  some  four  miles  out  from  the  camp, 
and  found  the  latter  all  skilfully  prepared  to  meet 
Iliem.  Dieskau  had  arranged  the  French  troops 
in  tin-  centre,  while  the  Canadians  and  Indians 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  33 

were  stationed  along  in  the  woods  on  either 
wing,  so  as  to  surround  the  English  forces  as 
soon  as  they  had  advanced  far  enough  into  this 
well-set  trap.  Had  not  the  engagement  begun 
as  soon  as  it  did,  the  plan  of  the  French  Baron 
would  unquestionably  have  worked  well ;  but,  as 
it  was,  it  did  not  operate  quite  so  exactly  to  his 
mind.  The  provincials  fought  like  the  brave 
men  they  were,  and  were  forced  at  last  to  fall 
back.  Col.  Williams  was  slain  in  the  battle,  and 
so  was  Hendricks,  the  famous  Mohawk  Indian 
chief,  who  had  been  a  firm  friend  to  the  English 
and  provincials. 

The  vanquished  forces  retreated  till  they 
reached  the  main  body,  under  General  Johnson. 
This  engagement  had  taken  place  before  noon. 
It  was  just  about  noon,  then,  when  the  French 
forces  came  up  to  renew  the  battle,  flushed  and 
eager  with  their  recent  victory.  On  each  side  of 
the  American  position,  which  was  upon  the  bank 
of  Lake  George,  lay  a  swamp,  densely  covered 
with  trees.  Gen.  Johnson  had  mounted  a  few 
pieces  of  cannon,  which  he  had  fortunately  re- 
ceived from  Fort  Edward,  and  a  breastwork  was 
hastily  constructed  by  felling  trees.  On  came 


34  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

the  French  in  regular  order,  expecting  only  a 
second  victory.  After  pausing  for  a  brief 
moment  at  a  distance  from  the  breastworks,  they 
fell  upon  the  centre  with  great  spirit,  while  the 
Canadians  and  Indians  attacked  the  two  flanks 
in  the  hope  of  turning  them.  The  assault  upon 
the  centre  did  not  prove  as  destructive  to  the 
provincial  forces  as  was  calculated ;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  latter  took  fresh  courage  on  seeing  how 
little  damage  the  French  were  able  to  do  them, 
As  soon  as  they  began  to  play  their  cannon  upon 
the  advancing  enemy  with  such  terrible  effect,  the 
allied  Indians  and  Canadians  took  to  their  heels 
in  a  paroxysm  of  fear,  being  quite  unused  to  so 
destructive  an  engine  of  warfare.  Baron  Dies- 
kau  in  consequence  was  obliged  to  retreat  in 
great  haste  and  confusion,  and  his  force  was 
hotly  pursued  by  a  portion  of  the  provincial 
army.  The  Baron  himself  was  wounded,  and 
found  leaning  against  a  stump,  all  alone.  An 
American  seeing  him  feeling  for  his  watch,  with 
which  he  probably  hoped  to  bribe  his  pursuers, 
supposed  he  was  searching  for  his  pistol;  upon 
which  he  inf Tided  upon  him  a  wound  in  the  hip 
with  a  musket  ball,  which  finally  proved  mortal 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  35 

He  was  carried  a  prisoner  into  the  camp  in  a 
blanket,  and  treated  tenderly.  Afterwards  he 
was  taken  to  Albany,  then  to  New  York,  and 
finaliy  to  England. 

Being  pursued  for  some  four  miles,  the  French 
at  length  halted  to  refresh  themselves  on  the 
very  ground  where  the  battle  of  the  morning  had 
been  fought.  How  different  were  their  feelings 
then,  from  their  feelings  of  a  few  brief  hours 
before  !  Meantime  Gen.  Lyman  had  despatched  a 
force  up  from  Fort  Edward  to  the  assistance  of 
Gen.  Johnson,  and  the  detachment  he  had  sent 
forward  came  upon  them  while  they  were  thus 
refreshing  themselves  on  the  morning's  battle- 
field. A  second  time  they  were  routed,  and,  on 
this  occasion,  most  thoroughly.  Many  prisoners 
were  taken  and  carried  into  camp.  Thus  opened 
the  English  successes  on  the  continent  against  the 
French  forces,  with  this  brilliant  victory  of  Lake 
George.  This  was  the  battle  in  which  Joseph 
Brant,  the  famous  Mohawk  Indian,  then  but 
thirteen  years  old,  first  learned  the  art  of  war  from 
taking  an  active  part  in  it. 

Gen.  Johnson  at  once  proceeded  to  erect  a  fort 
where  he  was  encamped,  which  he  named  Fort 


36  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

William  Henry.  Israel  Putnam  not  long  after- 
wards reached  the  camp  at  Lake  George,  where, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  his  active 
temperament  and  love  of  perilous  performances 
peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  duties  which  were 
then  assigned  him.  As  a  ranger,  volunteering 
his  services  on  occasions  of  great  danger,  and 
when  much  caution  was  necessary,  no  man  in 
the  provincial  army  could,  at  that  day,  surpass 
or  equal  him.  It  fell  to  him,  in  this  capacity, 
to  find  out  where  the  enemy  were,  what  was  their 
strength,  to  be  continually  alarming  their  pickets, 
to  devise  ways  of  harassing  and  surprising  them, 
io  act  as  a  partisan  scout  in  fetching  information 
from  the  hostile  parties,  and  in  performing  all 
those  other  active  labors  that  are  of  the  most  ef- 
fective service  to  the  success  of  a  military  cam- 
paign on  an  uninhabited  frontier. 

Once,  during  that  season,  he  set  out  with  Cap- 
tain  Rogers  and  a  small  party  to  reconnoitre  the 
defences  at  Crown  Point.  The  forest  in  the 
vicinity  was  alive  with  Indians,  and  it  was  at  the 
same  time  impossible  for  the  whole  party  to  ap- 
proach within  the  desirable  distance  of  the  fort. 
They  concealed  the  men,  therefore,  in  the  woods 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  37 

not  far  off,  and  went  by  themselves  to  reconnoitre. 
Creeping  along  in  the  dark,  they  soon  came  near 
to  the  fort,  where  they  remained  secreted  all 
through  the  night,  but  without  obtaining  as 
much  knowledge  as  they  went  after.  Towards 
morning  they  were  more  successful ;  and,  while 
returning  by  different  ways  to  the  place  where 
their  party  lay  concealed,  a  French  guard  came 
suddenly  upon  Capt,  Rogers,  and  made  an  effort 
to  stab  him,  while  he  also  gave  the  alarm.  They 
clinched  and  struggled.  Meantime  the  guard 
answered  to  the  alarm.  Putnam  learned  the 
cato.se  of  the  trouble,  and  in  an  instant  flew  to  his 
companion's  rescue.  With  a  single  well-directed 
blow  from  the  butt  of  his  musket  upon  the  head 
of  the  Frenchman,  he  laid  him  out  upon  the 
ground,  stark  and  dead.  Immediately  the  two 
bold  rangers  hastened  to  rejoin  their  little  party, 
with  whom  they  made  the  best  of  their  way  out 
of  the  reach  of  their  enemies. 

It  was  now  late  in  the  season,  it  being  in  the 
month  of  October.  Of  course  it  was  impracti- 
cable to  attempt  anything  more  of  a  hostile 
nature  during  that  year,  especially  as  Crown 

Point  was  ascertained  to  be  too  strongly  fortified 

4 


38  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

to  be  assailed  at  present.  The  greater  part  of 
the  army  was  therefore  discharged,  leaving  but 
six  hundred  men  as  a  force  with  which  to  gar- 
rison both  Fort  Edward  and  Fort  William 
Henry.  During  the  same  season,  too,  the 
French  descended  the  lake  and  took  military 
possession  of  Ticonderoga,  which  they  proceeded 
to  fortify.  Putnam's  company  were  disbanded 
with  the  other  colonial  regiments,  and  he  re- 
turned home  to  pass  the  winter  in  the  quiet 
retirement  of  his  farm  in  Connecticut. 

The  next  year's  campaign  had  the  same  objects 
in  view  with  that  of  the  last.  Owing,  however, 
to  the  victories  that  had  been  achieved  by  the 
French  commander,  Montcalm,  at  Fort  Os- 
wego  and  Fort  George,  the  plans  of  the  cam- 
paign were  altogether  broken  in  upon.  An  ex- 
pedition was  set  on  foot  against  Crown  Point, 
v.'liich  was  to  be  conducted  by  Gen.  Winslow, 
with  provincial  troops  alone;  but  the  unexpected 
success  of  Montcalm  had  the  effect  to  throw  the 
English  altogether  on  the  defensive.  Putnam 
was  still  at  the  head  of  a  company,  serving  under 
his  former  commander.  Abercrombie  commanded 
the  entire  forces  until  past  the  middle  of  the 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  39 

summer;  in  August  he  was  displaced  by  Lord 
Loudon.  The  English  generals  were  in  con- 
stant expectation  of  being  attacked  by  the 
French,  and  therefore  assumed  an  attitude 
almost  exclusively  defensive. 

Putnam,  in  this  campaign,  acted  the  bold  part 
of  a  ranger.  This  duty  required  a  person  of 
peculiar  qualifications,  and  such  had  he  in  per- 
fection. He  was  daring,  and  even  reckless,  ;•.:;(!, 
at  the  same  time,  he  knew  how  to  be  cautioi; .; 
and  wary  as  an  Indian.  His  active  and  ardent 
temperament  fitted  him  above  most  other  men 
for-so  responsible  and  arduous  a  service.  Two 
things  were  his  —  courage  and  caution.  He 
could  be  bold,  and  he  also  knew  how  to  keep 
silence.  United  with  his  other  rare  qualities  was 
an  instinctive  sagacity,  which  piloted  himself  and 
his  little  party  many  a  time  safely  through 
dangers  with  which  other  men,  perhaps  fully  as 
brave,  would  have  been  overwhelmed.  Indeed, 
considering  the  history  of  Israel  Putnam's  mili- 
tary exploits  from  first  to  last,  it  must  be  said  of 
him,  in  summing  up  the  whole,  that  he  excelled 
chiefly  as  a  partisan.  No  man  in  the  army  was 
more  impetuous  yet  more  cool,  more  daring  and 


40  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

rcc-klfvs    and   still   more    self-controlled,  than  he. 
And  it  was  this  which  made  his  services  so  bril- 
liant   and   so    valuable    during    the     protracted 
i<  :-ms  of  both    the  French  and  Indian,  and 
Revolutionary  War. 

Once,  during  this  campaign  of  1756,  he  Tvas 
directed  to  take  some  observations,  and  report 
concerning  the  camp  of  the  enemy  at  the 
"  Ovens."  This  was  but  a  little  way  from  Ti- 
conderoga.  Taking  along  with  him  Lieut.  Dur- 
kre,  he  started  oft  on  his  perilous  but  most  wel- 
come errand.  Nothing  suited  him  better  than 
excitement  and  danger.  The  business  was  to  be 
performed  in  the  night,  and  required  therefore  all 
the  more  caution.  The  French  army,  when  they 
lay  down  at  night  to  sleep  in  the  forest,  kindled 
their  fires  in  the  centre  of  the  camp  and  slept  on 
the  outside  of  the  circle,  quite  within  the  protec- 
tion afforded  by  the  darkness.  The  custom  of 
the  English  and  provincial  army  was  just  the 
contrary.  Putnam  and  his  friend  did  not  happen 
to  be  aware  of  this  fact.  Hence,  they  made  their 
way  up  thoughtlessly  toward  the  fires  of  the 
French,  on  their  hands  and  knees  of  course,  and 
had  gone  some  distance  within  the  enemy's  lines 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  41 

before  they  became  aware  of  their  desperate  situ- 
ation. They  were  discovered  by  the  sentinels, 
who  at  once  fired  upon  them.  His  friend  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh,  but  Putnam  was  unhurt. 
The  latter  wheeled  and  rushed  into  the  darkness 
again;  but  suddenly  he  found  himself  lying  all 
in  a  heap  at  the  bottom  of  a  clay  pit.  Hardly 
had  he  come  to  himself  sufficiently  to  understand 
where  he  was,  when  in  plunged  another  person 
after  him.  Putnam  raised  the  butt  of  his  musket 
to  break  his  head,  when  a  voice  asked  him  if  he 
was  hurt.  He  recognized  the  voice  as  that  of  his 
friend,  Lieut.  Durkee.  In  the  greatest  haste  — 
quite  as  great,  if  possible,  as  they  had  found  their 
way  into  the  pit  —  they  both  scrambled  out,  and 
made  off  into  the  forest  in  the  midst  of  a  rain  of 
aimless  bullets  from  the  enemy.  They  lay  und.'r 
a  large  log  during  the  rest  of  the  night,  and  found 
the  fight  of  the  silent  stars  much  more  agreeable 
company  than  they  probably  would  have  found  that 
of  the  hostile  camp-fires.  It  is  related  that  when 
Putnam  unslung  his  canteen,  to  divide  the  rum  it 
held  with  his  wounded  and  fainting  comrade,  he 
found  to  his  surprise  that  a  stray  bullet  from  the 

4* 


42  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

sentinel  had  pierced,  and  entirely  emptied  it  of 
its  contents. 

The  provincial  camp  was  much  troubled  by  the 
prowling  incursions  of  the  Indians,  who  used  to 
come  about  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  and  carry 
off  the  sentinels,  no  one  could  tell  how  or  whither. 
It  was  one  of  the  greatest  mysteries  that  excited 
their  curiosity,  or  their  superstitious  fears.  One 
of  the  outposts  had  suffered  more  than  any  of  the 
others.  At  last  it  became  so  hazardous  to  serve 
as  guard,  —  no  soul  of  those  who  were  missing 
ever  coming  back,  or  sending  back  any  tidings  of 
his  fate,  —  that  not  a  man  could  be  found  who 
was  willing  to  put  his  life  in  peril  in  occupying 
it.  All  were  appealed  to,  but  in  vain.  They 
were  not  ready  to  volunteer  in  a  service  where 
they  felt  certain  there  was  not  even  a  chance  in 
their  favor.  Some  of  the  best  and  bravest  men 
had  volunteered  on  that  post,  and  never  been 
heard  of  again. 

It  had  come  to  such  a  pass  at  length,  that  the 
commanders  were  about  to  proceed  to  draw  men 
by  lot  for  the  place,  when  Putnam  stepped  forth 
with  his  usual  promptitude,  eager  to  brave  the 
danger,  and  pluck  out  the  heart  of  the  mystery. 


THE   FRENCH  WAR.  43 

He  need  not  have  done  this,  for,  as  an  officer,  he 
would  not  have  been  liable  to  be  drawn  with  the 
rest ;  but  he  suffered  that  consideration  to  make 
no  difference.  He  offered  to  garrison  the  post 
for  that  night  himself,  and  his  offer  was  accepted. 
The  directions  were,  at  hearing  the  least  noise, 
he  was  to  ask,  "  Who  goes  there  ?  "  three  times  ; 
and,  if  no  answer  was  returned,  then  to  fire  im- 
mediately. With  these  instructions  fresh  in  his 
mind,  he  went  out  and  took  his  station.  In  the 
first  place,  he  made  a  thorough  and  most  minute 
examination  of  every  object  within  sight  and 
reach.  He  laid  down  in  his  mind  exactly  how 
trees,  rocks,  bushes,  and  stumps  stood  relatively 
to  each  other,  and  daguerreotyped  their  appear- 
ance in  his  memory.  Then,  seeing  that  his  fire- 
arm was  in  perfect  order,  he  waited  and  watched 
for  the  terrible  mystery. 

There  was  a  moon  in  the  sky  that  night,  by 
whose  pale  light  even  those  objects  with  which 
he  had  already  become  familiar,  looked  weird  and 
spectral.  For  several  hours  nothing  occurred 
that  attracted  his  attention.  Midnight  wore  on, 
1  no  manifestations  of  any  lurking  danger 
yet.  By  and  by,  however,  he  thought  he  heard  a 


44  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

slight  noise  in  the  wild  grass.  He  gave  it  all  his 
attention.  Then,  what  sounded  like  a  wild 
animal,  came  straying  along,  gradually  Hearing 
his  position.  Finally  the  animal  seemed  to  take 
the  appearance  and  nature  of  a  wild  hog ;  and,  to 
carry  out  the  resemblance,  it  busied  itself  with 
cracking  the  acorns  it  grubbed  up  underneath  the 
trees.  Putnam  saw  it  all,  and  heard  it  all.  His 
thought  was  always  quick,  and  rarely  did  it  lead 
him  far  astray.  Even  a  hog  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  pass  the  lines,  he  declared  to  himself, 
unless  he  gave  the  countersign.  Accordingly,  he 
raised  his  musket  to  his  shoulder,  and  called  out, 
"  Who  goes  there  ?  "  three  times,  and  fired.  The 
hog  gave  a  deep  groan,  straightened  out  in  the 
agonies  of  death,  and  instantly  lay  a  lifeless  heap 
on  the  ground.  On  going  up  to  examine  it,  he 
discovered  that  he  had  only  shot  a  treacherous 
and  wily  Indian,  who  had  disguised  himself  in  a 
bear-skin,  and  thus  picked  oft"  the  unsuspecting 
M-minels  from  this  dangerous  post  night  after 
night.  There  was  no  longer  any  fear  among  the 
soldiers  of  standing  sentry  on  that  post.  The 
heart  of  the  mystery  had  been  laid  open,  and  this 
was  what  there  was  in  it. 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  45 

Putnam  was  likewise  the  leader  and  master- 
spirit of  another  excursion  against  the  enemy  that 
season,  which  added  much  to  the  increasing 
lustre  of  his  fame.  It  appears  that  some  five  or 
six  hundred  of  the  French  had  made  a  descent 
on  the  stores  and  baggage  of  the  English  army, 
at  a  place  about  half  way  between  Fort  Edward 
and  Fort  William  Henry,  and  carried  off  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions  as  booty.  The  soldiers 
who  were  escorting  the  train  were  not  numerous 
enough  to  protect  it  against  the  vastly  greater 
force  of  the  assailants,  and  were  obliged  to  yield 
it  Nip  altogether.  Putnam  was  ordered,  with 
about  a  hundred  men  in  boats,  carrying  with 
them  two  smah1  pieces  of  cannon,  besides  their 
ordinary  arms,  to  head  them  off  on  their  return 
down  Wood  Creek  into  Lake  Champlain.  They 
all  started  off  in  high  spirits,  and  sailed  down  Lake 
George  in  their  batteaux,  with  the  resolution  to 
punish  the  insolence  of  the  enemy  wherever  they 
might  fall  in  with  him. 

They  landed  at  a  certain  point  far  enough 
down  the  lake,  and  there  disembarked,  leaving 
their  boats  under  a  sufficient  guard,  and  marched 
rapidly  across  to  the  narrows  of  Lake  Champlain, 


46  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

where  they  took  their  stand  and  waited  for  the 
thieving  rascals  to  come  up.  The  place  in  \\  hich 
Putnam  concealed  the  men  was  admirably 
selected,  and  so  hidden  by  the  trees  and  bushes 
that  no  one  sailing  down  the  lake  would  look  for 
danger  from  such  a  quarter.  The  body  of  the 
water  at  that  point,'  also,  was  not  so  wide  but  his 
guns  could  sweep  it  for  the  whole  distance.  As 
the  French  came  sailing  by,  the  party  in  ambush 
suddenly  poured  in  upon  them  a  terrible  volley 
of  shot,  which  performed  most  remarkable  execu- 
tion. The  rowers  were  killed,  the  boats  were 
sunk,  and  they  were  so  huddled  together  in  the 
confusion  that  they  afforded  a  surer  mark  for  the 
fire  of  the  provincials.  Only  a  few  of  the  boats 
managed  to  escape,  and  these  with  the  aid  of 
the  wind  that  blew  up  the  lake  very  strongly. 
By  this  means  the  encampment  at  Ticonderoga 
were  advised  of  the  mortifying  mishap  to  the  ex- 
pedition, and  hastened  to  wreak  their  vengeance 
upon  its  authors  before  they  could  return  to  head- 
quarters. 

It  was  in  the  expectation  of  something  like  this 
that  the  rangers  betook  themselves  back  to  their 
boats  with  all  possible  speed,  knowing  that  their 


THE   FRENCH   WAR.  47 

condition  was  a  desperate,  if  not  an  utterly  hope- 
less one,  should  they  be  intercepted  before  they 
reached  the  water.  They  had  some  twenty 
miles  to  make,  in  order  to  do  this  ;  but  they  were 
successful.  The  French  hurried  after  them  by 
way  of  the  lake  above,  and,  of  course,  must  have 
made  much  headway  even  before  the  rangers 
embarked  again,  which  was  at  night.  The  very 
next  day  they  saw  their  enemy  on  shore  in  large 
numbers.  They  must  have  silently  passed  them 
somewhere  during  the  night.  It  of  course  was 
not  long  before  the  French  spied  them  coming, 
aYid  took  to  their  boats  with  great  speed,  deter- 
mined to  fight  them  in  line  on  the  lake.  The 
French  appeared  extremely  exultant,  as  if  the 
battle  had  been  fought  and  the  victory  had  been 
already  won.  Up  they  sailed  in  regular  array, 
supposing  that  the  provincials,  who  could  not 
have  numbered  more  than  one  to  their  three, 
would  be  so  stricken  with  terror  at  their  ap- 
proach that  they  would  decline  fighting  alto- 
gether. Not  until  they  came  within  shot  of 
them,  did  the  small  party  of  brave  fellows  under 
Putnam  open  fire  ;  and  then  they  gave  them,  all 
at  once,  the  full  contents  both  of  their  cannon 


48  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

and  their  muskets.  This  reception  dismayed 
thorn.  They  had  counted  on  nothing  of  the 
kind.  They  supposed  they  had  been  sailing  up 
to  an  easy,  and  perhaps  a  bloodless,  victory. 
Continuing  thus  to  pour  in  volley  after  volley, 
and  not  allowing  the  enemy  to  recover  them- 
selves sufficiently  to  rally  for  one  strong  effort, 
the  provincials  very  soon  succeeded  in  scattering 
the  flotilla  of  French  boats,  and  driving  them  off 
the  field  of  battle. 

The  provincials  were  the  victors.  The  French 
lost  a  great  number  of  their  men,  and  the 
Indians  fell  into  the  lake  in  scores-  What  is 
very  strange,  there  was  but  one  man  out  of  the 
provincial  force  killed  in  this  sharp  engagement, 
and  but  two  were  wounded,  and  they  only 
slightly,  while  the  loss  of  the  French,  including 
their  previous  loss  on  Lake  Champlain,  on  their 
return  from  the  foraging  excursion,  amounted  to 
hardly  less  than  five  hundred.  They  learned  a 
pretty  dear  lesson  by  it  all;  and,  certainly,  if 
nothing  else  were  to  be  said  about  it,  they  paid  at 
a  costly  rate  for  the  provisions  they  were  guilty 
of  stealing  from  the  escort  at  Half  Way  Brook. 


CHAPTER    III. 

CONTINUATION   OF   THE   FRENCH  WAR. 

HAD  Israel  Putnam  kept  a  record  of  his 
varied  and  most  exciting  experience  from 
the  time  his  life  began  to  be  of  public 
interest,  it  would  have  secured  an  attentive  peru- 
sal to  the  latest  generations.  But  he  was  doing 
greater  things  than  he  knew,  like  many  others 
who  are  noble  and  heroic  themselves  without 
being  aware  of  it.  The  next  year,  1757,  he 
received  a  major's  commission  from  the  Connec- 
ticut Legislature ;  showing  in  what  deservedly 
high  esteem  he  was  held  by  Miose  with  whom  the 
public  interests  were  left  to  be  administered. 

Thus  far,  it  certainly  could  not  be  denied  that 
the  English  arms  had  met  with  but  indifferent 
success  in  the  war  then  waging  with  the  French. 
This  was  in  no  sense  to  be  charged  to  the  want  of 

efficiency  or  courage  on  the  part  of  the  colonists, 
f) 


50  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

in  cooperating  with  them  in  their  plans ;  the  fault 
lay  elsewhere.  The  officers  who  were  appointed 
to  direct  the  operations  of  the  army  were  not  the 
men  they  should  have  been ;  they  knew  little  or 
nothing  of  the  country,  being  sent  over  from 
England  solely  for  the  purpose  of  supervising  what 
they  knew  little  about.  They  could  not  be  ex- 
pected, either,  to  feel  that  close  sympathy  with 
the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  colonists  which 
was  so  essential  to  the  success  of  their  warlike 
plans ;  and,  by  their  very  rank  and  station,  they 
were  alien  to  the  habits,  and  strangers  to  the 
feelings  that  made  up  the  sturdy  colonial  charac- 
ter. 

Lord  Loudon  was  an  inefficient  and  improper 
officer  to  set  at  the  head  of  an  army  anywhere. 
It  is  not  pretended  that  he  possessed  any  degree 
of  courage,  much  less  that  he  was  gifted  with  that 
military  genius  which  is  certainly  to  be  looked 
for  in  a  commander  who  undertakes  the  respon- 
sibilities of  such  extended  campaigns.  Mont- 
calm,  the  French  General,  had  put  him  to  his 
wits'  end  in  achieving  such  few,  but  very  signifi- 
cant successes  as  he  had  at  Oswego,  destroying 
and  dismantling  the  fort  at  that  place ;  and 


CONTINUATION   OF  THE   FRENCH  WAK.  51 

London  therefore  resolved  to  stand  only  on  the 
defensive.  This  was  the  whole  secret  of  his  no- 
policy  of  the  summer  previous,  after  his  appoint- 
ment by  the  ministry  at  home  to  supersede  Gene- 
ral Abercrombie.  During  the  winter,  however,  he 
had  made  liberal  drafts  on  the  several  Legis- 
latures of  the  colonies,  to  which  they  responded 
with  great  promptness.  Early  in  the  year  1757, 
too,  fresh  and  abundant  forces  arrived  from 
England  ;  so  that  the  belief  was  general  that  the 
campaign  of  this  year  was  to  be  carried  forward 
with  signal  energy  and  enthusiasm. 

Had  the  matter  lain  with  the  colonies,  the 
plans  of  the  previous  campaigns  would  certainly 
have  been  pushed  on  to  completion  and  success. 
And  the  fortress  from  which  the  various  assaults 
against  the  peace  of  the  provincialists  were  fitted 
out,  would  have  been  assailed  in  turn  with  all 
imaginable  vigor.  In  other  words,  the  war  would 
have  been  carried  by  the  colonists  into  Canada. 
But  not  so  thought  Lord  Loudon.  With  every 
means  with  which  to  secure  a  brilliant  series  of 
conclusive  victories  ready  at  his  hand,  he  fool- 
ishly projected  an  excursion  against  the  distant 
French  fortress  at  Louisburg,  on  the  island  of 


52  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Cape  Breton,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
the  rallying  point  for  the  French  on  this  conti- 
nent. Here  he  thought  to  strike  a  decisive  blow 
which  would  bring  him  sudden  fame  for  future 
enjoyment  at  home.  In  order  to  achieve  this 
contemplated  success,  it  was  first  necessary  for 
him  to  concentrate  his  troops  at  Halifax.  It  was 
far  into  the  summer  when  he  reached  that  point, 
and  then  it  was  only  to  learn  that  a  large  fleet  of 
French  vessels  had  just  before  arrived  at  Louis- 
burg,  which  was  now  abundantly  able  to  protect 
the  fortification  there  from  assault.  So  Loudon 
gave  over  his  purpose  altogether.  He  did  not 
even  make  an  effort  to  secure  the  victory  of  which 
he  was,  only  a  little  time  before,  so  sanguine  and 
certain.  He  left  his  ships  to  watch  the  further 
movements  of  the  French,  and  hastened  back 
himself  to  New  York.  And  thus  nothing  was 
accomplished  by  him  during  that  year. 

But  Montcalm  understood  the  situation  of 
affairs  exactly.  He  knew  that  Louisburg  could 
now  take  care  of  itself,  and  he  also  knew  that  the 
provincial  and  English  force  on  the  Canada  lines 
must  be  much  weakened  by  this  ill-timed  move- 
ment of  Loudon.  So  he  resolved  to  improve  the 


CONTINUATION   OP   THE   FRENCH   WAR.  53 

advantage  offered  by  these  circumstances,  and  to 
push  down  Lake  George  and  take  possession  of 
Fort  William  Henry.  It  was  a  bold  undertak- 
ing, and  yet  it  appeared  a  very  feasible  one. 
This  fort  was  but  a  poor  affair  at  best.  It  stood 
on  a  piece  of  ground  gently  rising  from  the 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  had  for  a  garrison  about 
three  thousand  men.  At  Fort  Edward,  which 
was  the  lower  fort,  Gen.  Webb  commanded ; 
and  the  force  under  him  was  even  larger  than 
that  at  Fort  William  Henry.  Montcalm  had  an 
army  of  nine  thousand  men,  including  both 
French  and  Indians.  During  the  month  of 
March  previous,  he  had  ventured  upon  an  attempt 
to  take  Fort  William  Henry ;  but  it  proved  un- 
successful. He  landed  near  that  fortification  on 
St.  Patrick's  eve ;  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
British  Rangers  being  Irishmen,  he  had  not 
miscalculated  in  supposing  that,  inasmuch  as 
they  would  probably  celebrate  that  well-known 
festival,  they  would  become  more  or  less 
intoxicated ;  and  of  this  circumstance  he  in- 
tended to  take  advantage.  Lieut.  Stark  hap- 
pened to  be  in  command  at  the  Fort  at  that 
time,  and  accidentally  overheard  some  of  the 
5* 


64  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Rangers  planning  on  the  evening  previous  for 
their  celebration  of  the  next  day-  As  an  excuse 
for  not  furnishing  them  with  liquor,  he  feigned 
lameness  in  his  wrist,  which  prevented  him  from 
writing ;  so  that  when  the  army  sutler  was  ap- 
plied to  for  the  liquor,  he  replied  that  he  had 
received  orders  not  to  deal  out  any  without 
a  written  order.  Stark's  lame  hand  was  excuse 
enough  for  his  not  writing  such  orders,  and  of 
course  no  spirits  were  dealt  out  to  the  Rangers 
at  all.  The  regular  troops  who  celebrated  the 
occasion  were  affected  with  the  liquor  they  drank, 
and  when  the  attack  was  made,  —  as  it  was,  on 
St.  Patrick's  day, —  the  successful  defence  of  the 
Fort  was  made  entirely  by  the  sober  Rangers. 

Mbntcalm  had  collected  his  forces,  as  just 
mentioned,  to  the  amount  of  nine  thousand  men, 
French  and  Indians*.  It  was  in  the  latter  part 
of  July  already.  General  Webb  had  just  pro- 
ceeded TO  Fort  William  Henry,  with  an  escort  of 
two  hundred  men,  taking  their  commander, 
.Major  Putnam,  along  with  him.  While  he  re- 
mained at  the  Fort,  he  thought  proper  to  send' 
Putnam  down  the  lake  with  a  small  force  of  but 
eighteen  men,  to  discover  where  the  enemy  were, 


CONTINUATION   OP  THE  FRENCH   WAR.  55 

and  in  what  numbers.  They  found  the  islands 
at  the  entrance  of  North-west  Bay  alive  with 
them.  Leaving  two  out  of  the  five  boats  behind, 
that  they  might  appear,  if  detected,  to  be  in- 
nocently engaged  in  fishing,  Putnam  hurried 
back  with  all  possible  despatch  to  inform  Gen. 
Webb  of  his  astounding  discovery.  He  of 
course  then  proposed  to  return  to  the  rescue  of 
his  comrades,  whom  he  had  left  behind ;  but 
Webb  peremptorily  refused  him  permission. 
By  pleading  and  begging,  however,  he  was 
allowed  to  return,  and  all  the  boats  at  last  found 

V 

their  way  back  in  safety,  although  they  were 
hotly  pursued,  and  at  one  time  nearly  surrounded 
by  the  enemy. 

What  does  this  cowardly  general  then  do,  but 
compel  Putnam  to  pledge  his  eighteen  men,  by  a 
solemn  oath,  to  keep  their  knowledge  of  the 
enemy's  approach  a  secret  from  the  garrison  at 
Fort  William  Henry,  and  then  order  him  to 
escort  him  with  his  command  back  to  Fort 
Edward.  Putnam  protested,  even  to  a  greater 
extent  than  most  young  officers  would  dare  to 
protest  against  the  orders  of  their  superiors;  but 
it  was  all  in  vain.  Webb  was  escorted  back  in 


56  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

safety  to  his  distant  quarters  at  Fort  Edward, 
cruelly  leaving  the  garrison  at  Fort  William 
Henry  ignorant  of  their  danger.  But  the  next 
day  he  had  thought  enough  better  of  it  to  send 
back  Colonel  Monroe,  with  his  regiment,  ordering 
him  to  assume  the  entire  command. 

When  Montcalm  therefore  made  his  appear- 
ance before  the  fort,  he  had  three  men  to  the 
garrison's  one.  First  he  sent  to  Col.  Monroe  a 
summons  to  surrender  the  place,  and  humanely 
urged  as  a  reason  the  enormous  bloodshed  and 
cruel  destruction  of  life  that  would  thus  be 
averted.  But  as  the  latter  had  good  reasons  to 
continually  expect  reinforcements  from  General 
Webb  at  Fort  Edward  below,  he  refused  to  con- 
sider such  a  demand  at  all.  From  that  time  the 
siege  regularly  commenced,  and  continued  for 
six  days.  Word  was  sent  to  Webb  by  expresses 
during  this  time,  laying  before  him  their  precari- 
ous situation,  and  imploring  immediate  succor ; 
but  it  was  a  supplication  to  ears  that  were  deaf. 
The  man  was  either  an  arrant  coward  or  else 
grossly  infatuated.  He  did  seem  to  relent,  how- 
ever, after  a  time,  and  changed  his  purpose  so  far 
as  to  send  up  Gen.  Johnson,  together  with  Major 


CONTINUATION   OF  THE   FRENCH   WAR.  57 

Putnam  and  his  Rangers ;  but  they  had  gone  on 
but  about  three  miles  when  he  despatched  an 
order  after  them,  calling  them  back  immediately. 
By  the  same  messenger  who  was  the  bearer  of 
this  cowardly  order,  he  sent  a  letter  to  Colonel 
Monroe,  at  Fort  William  Henry,  informing  him 
that  he  could  render  him  no  assistance,  and  ad- 
vising him  to  surrender  at  once.  The  messenger 
was  intercepted,  and  Montcalm  got  possession  of 
the  letter  and  instantly  knew  how  the  case  stood. 
He  had  just  before  heard  from  his  Indian  scouts 
that  the  force  that  was  marching  up  under  John- 
son and  Putnam,  were,  in  the  language  of  the 
red  men,  as  great  in  numbers  as  the  leaves  on  the 
trees  ;  and  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  beat  a 
retreat  as  early  as  he  could  in  consequence.  But 
this  intercepted  letter  put  a  new  face  on  the 
matter.  He  sent  it  in  to  Col.  Monroe  at  once, 
therefore,  with  a  new  and  more  urgent  demand 
for  him  to  surrender. 

No  other  way,  of  course,  was  left  him.  The 
siege  had  already  nearly  consumed  their  provis- 
ions, while  their  ammunition  was  almost  entirely 
exhausted.  Articles  of  stipulation  were  drawn 
up  between  the  two  commanders,  and  Montcalm 


58  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

promised  that  the  provincial  army  should  be  pro- 
tected ou  tUeir  march  down  to  Fort  Edward  by 
an  escort  of  French  troops.  They  were  to  march 
out  with  their  arms  and  their  baggage.  They 
should  not  again  serve  against,  the  French  for 
eighteen  months;  and  the  sick  and  wounded 
were  to  be  cared  for  by  Moutcalm,  until  such 
time  as  they  should  sufficiently  recover  to  be 
safely  escorted  to  Fort  Edward. 

The  moment  the  last  lines  of  the  army  had 
passed  the  gates  of  the  fort,  the  Indians,  number- 
ing some  two  thousand  in  all,  set  up  their  hideous 
war-cry,  shrill  and  fearful  in  the  ears  of  the  terror- 
stricken  provincials,  and  fell  upon  them  with  all 
the  strength  and  fury  of  their  long-pent  passion. 
They  were,  no  doubt,  expecting  a  large  amount 
of  plunder  from  this  expedition  against  Fort 
William  Henry,  and  when  they  saw  their  enemy 
thus  about  to  escape  them,  they  were  able  no 
longer  to  control  their  savage  indignation  ; 
neither  could  Montcalm  hold  them  in  check,  as 
he  had  already  hinted  in  his  first  summons  to  the 
garrison  to  surrender.  The  French  were  power- 
less to  afford  them  the  least  protection,  even  if 
they  made  the  attempt.  Such  an  indiscriminate 


,  CONTINUATION   OF   THE   FRENCH   WAR.  59 

and  merciless  massacre  as  on  that  bloody  day 
was  enacted  on  the  borders  of  beautiful  Lake 
George,  is  scarcely  matched,  certainly  not  ex- 
ceeded, by  any  similar  transaction  recorded  in 
history.  Those  who  fled  were  pursued  by  the 
savages  for  more  than  half  the  way  to  Fort 
Edward,  who  filled  the  forest  with  the  wild 
echoes  of  their  hideous  war-whoop.  Fifteen  hun- 
dred of  this  devoted  little  army  were  butchered 

| 

on  the  spot  where  protection  had  been  solemnly 
promised  them.  The  remnant,  which  did  not 
finally  reach  Fort  Edward,  were  dragged  away 
into  captivity,  to  suffer  and  at  last  to  die.  The 
defile  through  which  they  retreated  from  the  fort, 
is  called  Bloody  Defile  to  this  day.  Only  a  few 
years  ago,  on  making  excavations  for  a  plank 
road  there,  a  large  number  of  human  skeletons 
were  thrown  up  to  the  surface.  Several  skulls 
had  long  fractures  in  them,  as  if  made  by  toma- 
hawks. 

Webb  was  greatly  alarmed  on  hearing  what 
had  been  done,  as  well  he  might  be.  He  there- 
fore sent  forward  Major  Putnam,  with  his  com- 
mand, to  reconnoitre,  and  report  if  the  enemy 
were  about  to  march  down  next  upon  Fori 


60  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Edward.  And  there  is  little  doubt  that,  in  case 
they  had  done  so,  he  would  have  lied  from  the 
place  with  cowardly  precipitancy,  leaving  such 
of  his  men  as  would  not  accompany  him  to  take 
the  best  care  they  could  of  themselves.  Putnam 
reached  the  fort  only  to  find  it  a  mass  of  ruins. 
The  French,  having  finished  their  diabolical 
work,  were  just  getting  into  their  boats  to  return 
up  the  lake.  Putnam  describes  the  scene  that 
met  his  gaze,  as  he  came  up,  in  the  following 
words :  "  The  fort  was  entirely  demrtlished ;  the 
barracks,  out-houses,  and  buildings,  were  a  heap 
of  ruins ;  the  cannon,  stores,  boats,  and  vessels 
were  all  carried  away.  The  fires  were  still  burn- 
ing; the  smoke  and  stench  offensive  and  suffo- 
cating. Innumerable  fragments,  human  skulls 
and  bones,  and  carcasses  half  consumed,  were 
still  frying  and  broiling  in  the  decaying  fires. 
Dead  bodies,  mangled  with  knives  and  toma- 
hawks, in  all  the  wantonness  of  Indian  fierce- 
ness and  barbarity,  were  everywhere  to  be  seen. 
More  than  one  hundred  women,  butchered  and 
shockingly  mangled,  lay  upon  the  ground,  still 
weltering  in  their  gore.  Devastation,  barbarity, 
and  horror  everywhere  appeared,  and  the  spec- 


CONTINUATION    OF   THE   FRENCH    WA11.  61 

tacle  presented  was  too  diabolical  and  awful 
either  to  be  endured  or  described." 

Fort  William  Henry  was  never  rebuilt.  Fort 
George  was  built  upon  a  point  about  a  mile  to 
the  south-east  of  it,  at  which  the  English  army 
rendezvoused  the  next  year,  just  before  their  bril- 
liant, but  most  unfortunate  expedition  against  the 
French  on  Lake  Champlain. 

Later  the  same  year,  General  Lyman,  the  old 
commander  under  whom  Putnam  first  served  in 
this  war,  was  in  authority  at  Fort  Edward,  and 
began  to  make  his  position  as  secure  and  strong 
as  circumstances  would  allow.  One  day  he 
despatched  a  party  of  more  than  a  hundred  men 
into  the  forest  to  cut  timber,  and  a  guard  of 
fifty  regular  troops  was  sent  out  to  protect  them 
against  any  sudden  surprises.  There  was  a 
narrow  road  leading  to  the  fort,  at  the  extremity 
of  which  the  soldiers  were  posted.  One  side  of 
this  road  was  bounded  by  a  morass,  and  the  other 
by  a  creek.  Early  one  morning,  before  the  sun, 
in  fact,  was  fairly  up  in  the  east,  one  of  the  sen- 
tinels thought  he  saw  a  flock  of  birds  flying  over; 
and,  on  looking  carefully,  he  discovered  that  one 
of  these  feathered  creatures  lodged  in  the  top  of  a 
6 


62  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

*ree  above  his  head,  and  took  the  form  of  an 
Indian  arrow.  He  gave  the  alarm,  and  it  was 
found  that  a  party  of  savages  had  crept  into  the 
morass  during  the  night,  who,  as  soon  as  the 
alarm  was  sounded,  rushed  out  from  their  hiding 
place  and  murdered  those  of  the  laborers  who 
were  nearest  at  hand,  driving  the  rest  into  the 
fort,  which  was  some  hundred  rods  off.  The 
regulars  came  to  the  rescue  in  an  instant,  and 
drove  back  the  Indians  by  a  volley  of  musketry, 
so  that  the  rest  of  the  laborers  were  at  last  en- 
abled to  reach  the  fort  in  safety. 

Gen.  Lyman  is  supposed  to  have  misinter- 
preted the  state  of  things,  having  been  so 
thoroughly  surprised,  and  therefore  called  in  all 
his  outposts  and  shut  the  gates  of  the  fort.  He 
supposed  that  a  general  attack  against  the  fort 
from  all  points  was  intended,  and  felt  the  stern 
necessity  upon  him,  for  the  moment,  of  leaving 
the  little  company  of  fifty  regulars  under  Capt 
Little  to  take  care  of  themselves.  It  was  a  cruel 
mistake,  though  Gen.  Lyman  was  never  charged 
with  cowardice  in  making  it.  Putnam  happened 
to  be  placed  on  guard  at  the  time,  with  a  body 
of  rangers  at  one  of  the  outposts,  which  was  on  a 


CONTINUATION   OF  THE   FRENCH   WAR.  63 

small  island  situated  not  far  from  the  fort.  The* 
moment  he  heard  the  sound  of  the  firing  in  the 
direction  of  Capt.  Little's  company,  he  sprang 
with  his  usual  impulsiveness  into  the  water,  and 
bade  his  men  follow  him.  As  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  pass  the  fort  on  his  way,  Gen.  Lyman 
leaped  to  the  parapet  as  he  came  on,  and  ordered 
him  to  stop  where  he  was.  He  said  it  was  need- 
less to  risk  the  lives  of  any  more  men ;  for  he 
certainly  supposed  that  the  entire  army  of  French 
and  Indians  were  right  upon  them.  Putnam, 
hovyever,  declared  that  he  could  not  suffer  a  fel- 
low-officer to  be  sacrificed  without  even  an  effort 
to  save  him ;  and,  after  offering  a  brief  and  very 
hasty  excuse  for  his  conduct,  pushed  forward 
with  the  hot  haste  that  was  so  characteristic  of 
his  nature.  He  thought  of  nothing,  and  cared 
for  nothing,  but  to  rescue  his  brave  companions. 

They  reached  the  company  of  regulars  who 
were  thus  fighting  for  their  lives,  and  rallied 
around  them  in  an  instant.  Putnam  was  for 
going  pell-mell  into  the  swamp ;  and  in  they 
went,  raising  a  shout,  as  they  did  so,  loud  enough 
to  have  frightened  the  very  beasts  of  the  forest. 
The  Indians  were  not  expecting  to  be  received  in 


64  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

=quite  this  style,  entertaining  no  such  ideas  of  the 
courage  of  their  enemy ;  they  therefore  took  to 
flight  with  great  precipitancy,  and  were  hotly 
pursued  during  the  rest  of  the  day  into  the  forest. 
Putnam  returned  to  the  fort  with  his  men,  ex- 
pecting, of  course,  to  be  disgraced  for  his  open 
disobedience  of  orders ;  but  the  general  thought 
proper,  under  all  the  circumstances,  to  let  the 
matter  pass  by  in  silence,  and  probably  was  glad 
of  an  excuse  to  get  over  it  so  easily.  It  would, 
without  doubt,  have  created  an  intense  excite- 
ment in  the  garrison,  had  Putnam  received  even 
a  reprimand  for  his  brave  and  self-sacrificing  con- 
duct on  so  trying  an  occasion 

Putnam  remained  at  Fort  Edward  during  that 
winter.  In  the  course  of  the  winter,  too,  another 
opportunity  offered  for  him  to  make  a  display  of 
that  cool  courage  and  bold  daring,  for  which  he 
enjoyed  so  wide  a  fame  among  the  soldiers. 
The  barracks  caught  fire  at  a  point  not  more 

than  twelve  feet  distant  from  the  powder  maga- 

f 
zine,  in  which  were   stored  about  fifteen  tons  of 

powder.  Cannon  were  brought  to  bear  upon 
them,  in  the  hope  of  battering  down  a  portion  of 
them,  and  thus  staying  the  progress  of  the  fire. 


CONTINUATION   OP  THE  FRENCH   WAR.  65 

But  it  was  in  vain.  Putnam  saw  the  extreme 
danger,  and,  knowing  that  the  flames  were  rap- 
idly advancing  in  the  direction  of  the  magazine, 
determined  to  make  every  exertion  possible  to 
check  them.  For  this  purpose,  he  stood  upon 
a  ladder  reaching  to  the  roof,  and  took  the 
buckets  of  water  as  they  were  passed  up  to 
him  from  the  line  of  men  that  was  formed  be- 
tween the  fort  and  the  river,  and  himself 
kept  dashing  it  without  intermission  upon  the 
flames.  The  heat  grew  every  moment  more 
an4  more  intense,  till  he  thought  at  times  he 
could  endure  it  no  longer.  The  fire  gained  on 
him  in  spite  of  his  efforts,  and  he  found  him- 
self enshrouded  in  a  rolling  mass  of  smoke  and 
flame.  One  pair  of  thick  woollen  mittens  was 
burned  off  his  hands,  and  he  immediately  called 
for  another ;  these  he  kept  continually  dipping 
in  the  water,  to  preserve  them  from  the  fate  of 
the  other  pair. 

He  was  even  directed  to  come  down,  as  it 
was  worse  than  useless  to  expose  himself  in 
this  way  any  longer  ;  but  he  resolutely  re- 
fused, fighting  the  furious  enemy  with  a  des- 
perate energy  that  excited  general  wonder  and 
6* 


66  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

admiration.  Still  all  the  while  he  appeared  as 
cool  and  collected  as  if  there  was  no  such  dan- 
ger as  fifteen  tons  of  powder  contained,  within 
n  mile  of  him.  Some  of  the  men,  in  the  mean- 
time, stricken  with  a  panic,  were  proceeding 
to  get  their  few  valuables  out  of  the  fort  and 
make  ready  for  the  expected  explosion. 

Up  to  this  time,  only  a  single  angle  of  the 
barracks  was  on  fire ;  but  now  the  flames  en- 
wrapped the  entire  line,  and  were  bent  on  get- 
ting at  the  powder  beyond.  Putnam  was  then 
obliged  to  leave  his  post  on  the  ladder,  and 
came  down  and  planted  himself,  as  the  last 
resource,  between  the  burning  barracks  and  the 
magazine,  and  called  for  more  water.  They 
kept  passing  it  to  him  in  a  steady  stream  of 
buckets.  The  fire  had  now  caught  the  outside 
timbers  of  the  magazine,  and  burned  them  com- 
pletely off.  Only  a  single  thickness  remained 
between  that  and  the  powder,  and  that  was 
soon  reduced  to  a  living  coal !  Some  thought 
of  flight ;  but  Putnam  worked  on.  While  his 
sturdy  form  stood  confronting  the  fires,  it  acted 
upon  those  who  saw  him  like  a  magnet,  to  at- 
tract them  lo  the  spot.  So  they  all  worked  with 


CONTINUATION   OF  THE   FRENCH   WAR.  67 

greater  enthusiasm  still.  Putnam  was  covered 
with  the  thick-falling  cinders,  and  enshrouded 
with  the  smoke.  Every  one  expected  to  see 
him  give  out  before  so  relentless  a  foe  as  the 
one  he  had  undertaken  to  contend  with.  This 
was  a  rarer  display  of  true  courage  than  when 
he  went  down  alone  into  the  wolf's  den  at  mid- 
night, finding  his  way  along  with  a  flickering 
torch.  He  poured  on  the  water  incessantly. 
Atvlast  the  main  timbers  of  the  barracks  hav- 
ing burned  through,  they  fell  in,  and  the  danger 
was  over.  For  nearly  two  hours  he  had  fought 
the  fire  single-handed.  He  was  blistered  from 
head  to  foot,  from  his  exposure  to  the  intense 
heat;  and  on  drawing  his  second  pair  of  mit- 
tens from  his  hands,  the  skin  came  with  them 
too. 

He  was  a  keen  sufferer  from  the  effects  of 
these  blisters  and  burns,  and  it  was  many 
weeks  before  he  was  able  to  feel  that  his 
case  had  taken  a  favorable  turn.  But  by 
this  single  act  he  had  earned  for  himself 
the  warmest  admiration  and  the  hearty  grat- 
itude of  the  garrison,  and  indeed  of  the  en- 
tire army.  No  one  could  justly  estimate  what 


68  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

he  alone  had  saved,  by  thus  subduing  such 
a  remorseles  enemy  as  for  a  time  threatened 
to  overwhelm  them  all  with  instant  destruc- 
tion. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

CAMPAIGN   OF    1758. 

WILLIAM  PITT,  afterwards  Lord  Chat- 
ham, had  been  entrusted  with  the 
administration  of  affairs  by  the  Brit- 
ish government  during  the  previous  year,  the 
King  finding  the  people  at  home  and  his  colonies 
in  America  were  growing  exceedingly  restive 
under  the  accumulating  disasters  and  mortifi- 
cations of  the  war.  Thus  far,  nothing  seemed 
to  have  come  of  all  their  efforts  and  sacrifices. 
The  three  or  four  northern  colonies  that  had 
heretofore  been  so  lavish  of  their  men  and 
money  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  —  a  war, 
too,  which  was  to  bring  no  immediate  advan- 
tage to  themselves,  —  felt  that  it  was  a  drain 
upon  them  to  go  on  in  this  way,  for  which 
there  was  no  likelihood  that  they  would  ever 
receive  a  proper  compensation.  Had  the  army 


70  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

achieved  any  signal  successes,  it  would  have 
been  a  different  thing ;  but  the  idea  of  continu- 
ing as  they  had  been  doing  for  the  past  two 
and  three  campaigns,  caused  no  little  irritation 
and  disquiet  among  them.  They  had  raised  fif- 
teen thousand  men  to  carry  on  this  war ;  and 
they  hesitated  about  raising  any  more  with  so 
little  promise  of  success. 

As  soon,  however,  as  it  was  understood  that 
the  king  had  changed  his  ministry,  their  hopes 
changed  too,  and  they  looked  forward  to  a 
chance  now  of  retrieving  their  past  losses,  and 
securing  that  honorable  peace  for  which  they 
had  been  fightitig. 

Mr.  Pitt  saw  at  once,  with  his  instinctive 
comprehensiveness  of  mind,  that  the  arms  of 
the  English  had  failed  of  success  hitherto,  on 
account  of  the  lack  of  capacity  and  courage 
on  the  part  of  the  leaders.  He  therefore  re- 
solved to  recall  the  inefficient  Lord  London ; 
and  ordered  Abercrombie  to  resume  the  com- 
mand, in  which  the  former  had,  only  the  year 
before  superseded  him.  General  Abercrombie 
made  his  head  quarters  at  Fort  Edward.  He 
had  !)'TM  there  but  a  little  while,  when  he  gave 


CAMPAIGN    OP    1758.  71 

directions  to  Major  Putnam  to  take  sixty  men 
with  him  down  towards  South  Bay,  beyond 
the  place  where  Wood  Creek  empties  into  Lake 
Champlain,  and  there  watch  for  such  parties 
of  the  French  as  might  come  straggling  along 
in  their  direction.  This  was  business  exactly 
suited  to  Putnam's  mind,  and  he  proceeded  to 
obey  so  welcome  an  order  with  his  usual  alac- 
rity. Arriving  at  a  spot  which  he  thought  a 
most  favorable  one  for  entrenching  his  little 
party,  he  threw  up  a  breast-work  of  stone 
some  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  ingeniously 
concealed  the  whole  with  young  pine  trees 
which  were  chopped  for  the  purpose.  The 
creek  at  that  point  was  only  thirty  yards  in 
width ;  and  the  precipice  on  which  he  erected 
his  fortification  lifted  itself  some  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  straight  above  the  water.  The  opposite 
bank  was  very  steep,  and  fully  twenty  feet  in 
height. 

The  party  became  short  of  provisions,  after 
a  time,  although  Putnam  Jiad  already  sent  back 
fifteen  men  to  Fort  Edward,  who  were'  too  un- 
well to  stand  the  exposure  any  longer.  He  felt 
sorely  the  want  to  which  they  were  getting  re- 


72  GEN.    IS?.A7:L    I'UTXAM. 

dueed,  and  cast  about  to  find  some  way  of  se- 
curing temporary  supplies.  Happening  lo  see 
a  large  buck  emerging  from  the  thicket  and 
making  ready  to  plunge  into  the  creek  and 
swim  to  the  other  bank,  he  impulsively  fired 
and  brought  the  animal  to  the  ground.  At 
such  a  time,  the  firing  of  a  gun  was  contrary 
to  military  rules,  and  the  most  hazardous  ex- 
periment that  could  have  been  tried.  And  it 
proved  so  in  the  present  instance.  Molang,  the 
famous  French  partisan,  —  of  whom  we  have 
spoken  before,  —  chanced  to  be  in  the  vicinhy 
wi:h  a  party  of  French  and  Indians,  moving 
sieaiihily  down  towards  the  American  forces. 
This  warning,  which  Putnam's  musket  fur- 
nished him,  also  sufficed  to  show  him  where 
the  provincial  scouts  were  stationed;  and  the 
moment  his  sentinel,  who  had  heard  the  report 
of  the  musket,  brought  in  word  to  that  effect, 
Molang  resolved  upon  either  surprising  them 
where  they  were,  or  stealing  past  them  unper- 
ceived  into  the  country  below 

The  French  and  Indians  glided  on  down  the 
creek  as  silently  as  possible.  They  detected  as 
yet  no  signs  of  an  ambush,  for  the  pine  trees 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1758.  73 

before  the  parapet  which  Putnam  had  erected 
served  as  a  perfect  screen.  At  about  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  one  of  the  American  sentinels  brought 
in  word  that  he  saw  a  great  many  canoes,  filled 
with  men,  advancing  in  the  silence  of  the  night 
in  their  direction,  and  that  they  would  soon  be 
within  reach  of  the  fort  on  the  bank.  Putnam 
called  in  the  sentinels,  and  prepared  to  greet 
the  enemy  in  his  earnest  manner,  as  soon  as  they 
should  make  their  appearance.  It  was  a  per- 
fectly still  night,  and  a  full  moon  flooded  the 
landscape  with  its  mellow  light.  All  within 
the  little  parapet  was  hushed.  There  was  not 
even  the  rustle  of  a  bough,  or  the  crackle  of  a 
twig  to  be  heard.  The  canoes  came  in  sight. 
They  were  indeed  packed  with  men,  as  the 
sentinel  had  warned  them.  Putnam  resolved 
to  allow  the  first  part  of  the  line  of  boats  to 
get  well  into  the  throat  of  the  watery  defile, 
and  then  to  open  fire  upon  them  and  take  all 
possible  and  destructive  advantage  of  their  con- 
fusion. 

They  had  paddled  their  way  into  this  treach- 
erous  snare,   not  a  sound   as   yet   breaking  the 
stillness,  when  a  soldier  in  the  American  party 
7 


74  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

accidentally  struck  the  lock  of  his  musket 
against  a  stone.  "  O-WISH  !  "  hissed  the 
commander  of  the  enemy,  halting  in  his  sud- 
den fright,  and  repeating  the  Indian  watch-word. 
The  van  of  the  line  of  boats  having  thus  come 
to  a  stand,  the  rear  crowded  up  rapidly,  and 
in  a  moment  they  were  all  huddled  together 
before  the  American  breastworks.  Putnam  saw 
his  advantage,  and  eagerly  improved  it.  He 
at  once  ordered  his  men  to  fire.  Instantly  the 
entangled  knot  of  canoes  was  thrown  into  still 
direr  confusk>n.  The  French  could  not  see 
their  enemy,  and  of  course  could  return  but 
an  ineffectual  fire.  On  the  other  hand,  almost 
every  shot  of  the  American  party  carried  death 
along  with  it.  They  kept  up  their  murderous 
work  from  the  parapet  with  unabated  energy, 
killing  great  numbers  of  the  enemy  in  the  boats, 
whose  lifeless  bodies  went  tumbling  over  the 
sides  and  plashing  into  the  water.  Molang 
at  length  saw,  with  his  quick  eye,  that,  from 
the  firing  of  the  Americans,  there  could  not  be 
many  of  them,  and  accordingly  sent  off  a  de- 
tachment of  his  men  to  land  below  and  attack 
the  entrenched  party  fror/i  behind. 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  75 

Putnam,  however,  was  as  quick  as  himself. 
He  instantly  ordered  a  detachment  of  a  dozen 
men  to  go  and  prevent  their  landing,  which 
order  was  successfully  executed ;  and  he  sent 
still  another  party  up  the  creek,  to  prevent  a 
similar  demonstration  in  that  direction.  There 
were  thus  left  only  twenty  men  with  Putnam 
in  the  fort;  and  these  kept  loading  and  firing 
their  pieces  during  the  remainder  of  the  night, 
making  great  havoc  with  the  boats,  but  not 
even  sacrificing  a  single  life  among  their  own 
number.  It  was  discovered,  when  morning 
broke,  that  a  part  of  the  French  had  suc- 
ceeded in  making  a  landing  below,  between 
the  Americans  and  Fort  Edward,  and  nothing 
was  left  the  latter  but  to  retreat  with  all  possi- 
ble despatch.  This  last  order  of  Putnam's  was 
executed  with  signal  success.  Only  two  of  the 
American  scouting  party  were  wounded  dur- 
ing this  action,  while  nearly  three  hundred  of 
the  enemy  fell  beneath  the  fire  from  behind  the 
concealed  battlements  on  the  bank.  These  two 
were  sent  off,  with  two  others,  to  the  fort,  but 
wort-  afterwards  overtaken  by  their  pursuers, 
having  been  tracked  by  their  blood  on  the 


76  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

ground.  They  advised  their  escort  to  fly,  which 
the  latter  did.  One  of  them  then  killed  three 
of  the  Indians,  before  they  succeeded  in  des- 
patching him,  and  the  other  was  carried  off  a 
prisoner  into  Canada.  Putnam  afterwards  saw 
him  there,  when  himself  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  the  French. 

On  his  retreat  to  Fort  Edward,  having  only 
forty  men  under  him  in  all,  Putnam  was  sud- 
denly surprised  to  find  himself  fired  upon  by 
a  party  that  was  unexpectedly  approaching  in 
front.  Ignorant  of  their  numbers,  he  neverthe- 
less determined  to  rush  forward  to  the  conflict, 
and  at  once  fight  his  way  through  or  run  the 
chances  for  his  life.  Scarcely  had  he  set  up 
his  loud  shout  for  his  men  to  follow  their 
leader,  when  a  cry  arose  from  the  other  side, 
—  "  Hold,  we  are  friends  ! "  "  Friends,  or  foes," 
said  Putnam,  when  they  came  up,  "  you  deserve 
to  be  fired  into  for  doing  so  little  execution, 
when  you  had  so  fair  a  shot ! "  The  party 
proved  to  be  a  detachment  of  men  from  the 
fort,  who  had  been  sent  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
the  little  force  under  Putnam. 

Gen.  Abercrombie  determined,  not  long  after 


CAMPAIGN   OP   1758.  77 

taking  possession  of  his  post  at  Fort  Edward 
that  year,  to  signalize  the  year's  campaign  by 
some  brilliant  undertaking.  He  could  think  of 
nothing  which  would  bring  him  larger  and  more 
sudden  fame  than  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  he  therefore  formed  the  resolution 
to  compass  such  a  plan  before  the  season  went 
by.  It  was  a  hazardous  undertaking,  as  he 
well  knew ;  the  fortifications  were  of  the  most 
thorough  and  extensive  character ;  the  site  was 
almost  a  perfect  defence  of  itself ;  and  it  re- 
quired all  the  strength  and  courage  of  a  well 
appointed  and  highly  disciplined  army  to  march 
up  to  storm  such  a  fortress,  in  the  face  of  the 
thousand  obstacles  which  the  garrison  had  it 
in  their  power  to  throw  in  their  way.  But 
Abercrombie  seemed  to  have  set  his  heart  on 
the  undertaking.  His  imagination,  it  is  easy 
to  suppose,  was  dazzled  with  visions  of  the 
military  glory  which  its  capture  would  earn 
for  his  name. 

It  so  chanced  that  the  garrison  within  the 
fort  at  Ticonderoga  was  at  one  time  this  sum- 
mer reduced  to  four  thousand  men  :  whereas 

#.' 

Abercrombie  had  at  his  command  fully  sixteen 
7* 


78  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

thousand,  nine  thousand  of  whom  were  fur- 
nished by  the  Colonies.  They  assembled  at 
Fort  George,  and  set  sail  on  the  lake  on  the 
5th  day  of  July,  in  the  gray  of  the  morning. 
It  was  a  Saturday.  The  array  thus  presented 
on  the  surface  of  that  beautiful  lake,  formed  a 
picture  to  which  no  descriptive  pen  could  do 
the  justice  it  deserves.  There  were  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  whale  boats,  and  nine  hun- 
dred batteaux,  all  laden  heavily  with  men  and 
arms.  In  the  sultry  twilight  of  the  same  even- 
ing they  debarked  at  a  point  on  the  lake  called 
Sabbath  Day  Point,  where  they  remained  until 
midnight,  refreshing  themselves  with  rest  after 
the  long  day's  heat  and  fatigue.  Young  Lord 
Howe  was  with  the  army,  the  idol  and  adored 
of  all.  He  gathered  around  his  table  the  many 
youthful  and  gallant  spirits  of  the  army,  with 
whom  he  discoursed  with  great  freedom  and 
eloquence  on  the  prospects  of  this  most  splen- 
did expedition.  Capt.  Stark  was  present,  who 
afterwards  achieved  a  lasting  renown  as  one  of 
the  Generals  of  the  Revolution.  Much  was  said 
about  the  situation  of  Ticonderoga,  its  defences, 
the  means  of  approach  to  its  fastnesses,  and  the 


CAMPAIGN   OP   1758.  79 

probable  termination  of  the  attempt  to  reduce 
it  by  their  arms.  There  were  those  present, 
who,  on  recalling  many  things  which  Howe 
uttered  that  night,  thought  they  detected  a 
gleam  of  that  sadness  of  his  to  which  they 
afterwards  gave  the  name  of  presentiment. 

This  flotilla  of  more  than  a  thousand  boats 
on  the  bosom  of  the  lake,  presented  a  splendid 
military  pageant.  Howe,  in  a  large  boat,  led 
the  van,  surrounded  by  a  company  of  Rangers 
and  boatmen.  The  English  troops  were  dis- 
played in  the  centre,  and  the  Provincials  formed 
the  wings.  It  was  a  little  after  midnight  when 
they  re-embarked  and  began  to  move  forward 
again.  There  was  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen  in 
the  sky ;  the  stars  shone  out  bright  and  spark- 
ling; and  the  placid  lake  was  unruffled  by  the 
breath  of  the  lightest  breeze.  Their  oars  were 
muffled,  and  their  progress  was  so  silent  that 
not  a  single  one  of  the  sentinels  on  the  sur- 
rounding hillsides  observed  them.  It  was  day- 
dawn  when  they  had  come  within  four  miles 
of  the  point  at  which  they  were  to  land.  The 
sentinels  of  the  French  had  no  suspicion  of  the 
presence  or  even  of  the  approach  of  the  Eng- 


80  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

lish  army,  until  the  blaze  of  their  scarlet  uni- 
forms flashed  in  their  eyes,  as  the  crowded 
boats  rounded  the  point  of  land  that  intervened. 
They  landed  at  about  noon  in  a  little  cove  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake,  Lord  Howe  leading 
on  the  vanguard  of  the  army.  The  Rangers 
pushed  forward  through  the  forest,  to  clear  the 
way  for  the  main  body.  Howe  came  to  the 
bridge  that  spanned  the  stream  formed  by  the 
emptying  of  Lake  George  into  Lake  Champ- 
lain,  at  the  point  known  as  Lower  Falls ;  and 
thence  he  hurried  on  for  the  distance  of  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  to  the  French  lines. 

The  French  first  erected  their  fortifications 
at  Ticonderoga  in  1755.  They  found  that  site 
most  happily  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  a 
fortress,  it  being  peninsular  in  form,  and  ele- 
vated more  than  a  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  lake.  On  three  sides  was  water,  while 
on  the  fourth  was  an  almost  impassable  swamp, 
or  morass.  This  latter  was  situated  to  the  north. 
There  was  a  neck,  or  narrow  strip  of  land,  be- 
tween this  swamp  and  the  outlet  of  Lake 
George,  upon  which  were  built  regular  en- 
trenchments, and  afterwards  a  breastwork  nine 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  81 

feet  in  height;  and  before  this  breastwork  was 
an  abatis^  —  which  is  formed  of  trees  cut  down 
and  pointed  with  their  sharp  branches  out- 
ward, rendering  it  extremely  difficult  for  op- 
posing troops  to  make  their  way  over  them  in 
an  attempt  at  storming. 

As  we  before  remarked,  Montcalm  had  but 
four  thousand  men  under  his  command  in  the 
fortress,  and  was  at  the  time  expecting  a  re- 
inforcem'ent  of  three  thousand  from  Canada. 
Abercrombie  knew  this  very  well.  The  lat- 
ter advanced  his  army  in  three  columns,  but 
they  made  but  slow  progress  on  account  of 
the  intricacy  of  the  forest  into  which  so  large 
an  army  had  been  plunged.  An  advance  bat- 
talion of  the  French  fled  from  the  log  breast- 
work they  occupied,  at  their  approach,  which 
they  fired  as  they  fled.  Lord  Howe  was  sec- 
ond in  command.  Putnam  acted  as  an  ad- 
vance guard  to  thread  the  forest,  and  to  per- 
form the  valuable  service  of  a  scout.  He  had 
a  hundred  brave  men  under  him.  Young 
Howe  was  eager  to  advance  as  fast  as  the 
scouts,  and  proposed  to  Major  Putnam  to  ac- 
company him  ;  but  to  this  the*  latter  would 


82  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

* 

not  listen.  He  nobly  said  to  him,  in  trying 
to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  "  My  Lord, 
if  I  am  killed,  the  loss  of  my  life  will  be  of  lit- 
tle consequence  ;  but  the  safety  of  yours  is  of 
infinite  importance  to  this  army."  "  Your  life," 
instantly  answered  Howe,  "  is  as  dear  to  you 
as  mine  is  to  me !  I  am  determined  to  go ! " 
And  he  did  go.  It  was  not  long  before  they 
came  up  with  the  advance  guard  of  the  enemy, 
the  same  which  had  a  little  while  before  fled 
and  burned  the  log  breastworks.  This  body 
was  without  a  guide,  it  seems,  and  had  be- 
come bewildered  in  trying  to  find  their  way 
back  to  the  French  lines.  At  once  fighting 
began  between  the  parties,  and  Lord  Howe 
fell  at  the  very  first  fire  !  The  French,  how- 
ever, were  driven  back,  having  lost  in  killed 
and  prisoners  four  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
The  English  were  greatly  confused,  their  lines 
broken,  and  at  the  end  of  the  engagement 
Abercrombie  withdrew  with  them  again  to 
the  landing  place  on  Lake  George,  to  obtain 
rest  and  refreshment. 

It   was   said   that   when   young   Lord   Howe 
fell,  "  the  soul  of  the  army  seemed  to  expire." 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  83 

The  soldiers  all  adored  him.  He  accommo- 
dated himself  to  all  the  circumstances  of  his 
situation,  and  cut  his  hair  and  shaped  his  gar- 
ments to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  service 
and  the  fashion  of  the  Provincial  army.  Five 
thousand  troops  came  over  with  him  to  Hali- 
fax from  England,  the  year  before,  whom  he 
commanded  in  this  expedition  against  Ticon- 
deroga.  When  he  met  his  melancholy  end, 
he  was  but  thirty-four  years  old.  The  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Massachusetts  appropriated  two 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  or  about  twelve  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  to  secure  the  erection 
of  a  monument  to  his  memory  in  Westmin- 
ster Abbey.  His  remains  were  carried  to  Al- 
bany, where  they  were  buried  with  suitable 
honors.  His  coffin  was  opened  many  years 
afterwards,  and  it  was  found  that  his  hair  had 
grown  out  in  long  and  beautiful  locks. 

Gen.  Abercrombie  next  despatched  a  party 
to  make  observations  concerning  the  defences 
of  the  enemy  ;  and  an  engineer  who  went 
with  them  brought  back  word  that  the  works 
might  easily  be  carried,  as  they  were  not  yet 
finished.  Upon  this  the  English  army  marched 


84  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

f 

forward  once  more.  The  French  opened  a  gall- 
ing fire  of  artillery  upon  them  from  behind 
then*  breastworks,  as  they  advanced,  but  they 
seemed  to  take  no  heed  of  it  whatever.  On 
they  rushed  in  the  face  of  the  enemy's  fire, 
resolved  to  carry  the  works  by  storm.  The 
abatis  presented  the  most  fearful  obstacle  to 
them,  but  they  cared  nothing  for  that.  They 
recklessly  dashed  on,  clambering  over  and  hew- 
ing their  way  through  the  jagged  limbs  of  the 
trees,  for  the  incredible  space  of  four  long 
hours.  A  few  did  succeed  in  finally  reach- 
ing the  parapet,  —  but  they  fell  back  in  death 
the  instant  they  mounted  it.  The  English 
army  was  mown  down  in  the  most  cruel  and 
murderous  manner,  while  it  was  unable  to 
do  any  execution  in  return.  Abercrombie  at 
length  saw  the  fatality  of  the  attempt  to  storm 
the  works,  and  withdrew  his  forces  hastily.  The 
French  did  not  pursue,  or  the  loss  must  have 
been  much  greater  even  than  it  was.  They 
retreated  in  safety  to  the  point  on  Lake  George 
at  which  they  first  landed,  whence  the  wounded 
were  sent  under  escorts  to  Albany,  and  Fort 
Edward. 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  85 

• 

In  this  most  rash  and  inconsiderate  expedi- 
tion the  English  army  lost  two  thousand  men, 
and  twenty-five  hundred  stand  of  arms.  They 
rushed  like  brave  and  dauntless  heroes  into 
the  very  jaws  of  death,  but  it  was  the  height 
of  a  cruel  ignorance  thus  to  sacrifice  the  flower 
of  an  army  for  no  purpose  at  all.  Had  Ab- 
ercrombie  ordered  a  general  assault  on  the 
morning  after  the  bloody  skirmish  with  the  ad- 
vanced guard,  he  might  have  carried  the  then 
incomplete  intrenchments ;  but  he  delayed  un- 
til the  next  day,  and  by  that  time  the  French 
had  constructed  a  bristling  abatis  along  their 
entire  lines,  which  prevented  the  approach  of 
artillery,  or  even  of  infantry. 

Putnam  displayed  great  courage  at  all  times 
during  the  several  engagements  ;  and  in  the 
final  retreat,  acting  as  Aid,  in  place  of  the 
lamented  Howe,  to  General  Abercrombie,  he 
performed  most  efficient  and  gallant  service. 
Gen.  Abercrombie  immediately  returned  to  Fort 
Edward,  having  accomplished  none  of  the  ob- 
jects for  which  this  most  costly  and  inglorious 
military  enterprise  had  been  undertaken.  His 
8 


86  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

inefficiency  as  a  commander  was  established  in 
the  eyes  of  every  man  in.  the  army. 

It  was  during  this  summer  that  Putnam  per- 
formed his  daring  feat  of  dashing  down  the  mad 
rapids  of  the  Hudson  in  an  open  boat.  He 
was  near  Fort  Miller  at  the  time,  which  was 
situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hudson. 
Learning  suddenly  that  a  party  of  Indians 
were  in  the  woods  behind  him,  he  bethought 
himself  of  what  he  should  do.  If  he  tried  to 
cross  the  river  at  that  point,  the  savages  would 
certainly  shoot  him  before  he  could  get  over; 
if  he  stayed  where  he  was,  his  doom  was 
sealed  without  any  doubt ;  and  if  he  trusted 
himself  in  his  light  skiff  to  the  boiling  rapids, 
he  could  hardly  expect  less  than  an  awful 
death  on  the  rocks  below.  But.  as  usual  with 
him,  his  resolution  was  quickly  taken.  He 
sprang  into  the  boat,  hastily  ordered  the  oars- 
men to  push  off  into  the  stream,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  beyond  the  reach  of  the  guns  of  the 
Indians  by  the  time  they  came  in  sight  upon 
the  shore. 

But  he  had  escaped  one  danger  only  to  plunge 
into  the  jaws  of  another.  In  a  few  moments 


CAMPAIGN   OP   1758.  o7 

they  were  within  the  whirl  and  roar  of  the 
rapids.  The  rocks,  jagged  and  sharp,  thrust 
themselves  out  of  the  water  on  this  side  and 
that.  The  over-laden  boat  was  lifted  up  and 
thrown  down  again  by  the  mad  force  of  the 
breakers.  Putnam  stood  like  a  statue  at  the 
helm,  however,  skilfully  guiding  her  through 
the  roaring  dangers,  while  the  savages,  struck 
dumb  with  astonishment  at  what  they  saw, 
only  looked  on  in  silence,  exchanging  not  even 
a  sign  with  one  another.  The  boat  went 
safely  through  the  foaming  waters,  and  es- 
caped all  the  perils  that  thrust  themselves  in 
her  rapid  way ;  and  in  a  few  seconds  shot  like 
a  silver  arrow  out  into  the  placid  bay  below. 
The  Indians,  from  this,  thought  Putnam  safe 
from  all  danger,  and  superstitiously  believed 
it  would  be  useless  to  fire  upon  him,  for  his 
life  was  "  charmed/ 

In  August,  not  long  after  the  unfortunate 
march  to  Ticonderoga,  Putnam  was  sent,  with 
Major  Rogers,  to  overtake  a  party  of  the  enemy 
that  had  made  a  sudden  attack  on  one  of  their 
baggage  trains,  and  carried  off  a  large  quantity 
of  valuable  stores.  They  pushed  for.vard  with 


88  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

all  possible  haste  to  South  Bay,  a  part  of  Lake 
Champlain,  and  reached  the  spot  just  in  time  to 
see  the  fugitives  embarking  in  their  boats.  Put- 
nam concluded  it  was  best  to  remain  in  the 
locality,  and  watch  the  enemy's  future  move- 
ments. Rogers  was  posted  at  South  Bay, 
while  Putnam  took  his  position  at  Wood 
Creek,  which  empties  into  Lake  Champlain, 
and  about  a  dozen  miles  distant.  Molang 
was  soon  in  the  vicinity  again,  the  foraging 
party  having  probably  carried  word  to  the 
army  above,  that  the  Americans  were  in  pur- 
suit ;  and  as  his  scouts  were  known  to  the 
Americans  to  be  hanging  on  their  outposts,  it 
was  thought  most  prudent  for  Rogers  to  unite 
his  force  with  Putnam's  at  Wood  Creek,  and 
for  them  all  to  march  back  to  Fort  Edward  as 
soon  as  they  could.  This  they  proceeded  to 
do  with  all  proper  despatch^ 

As  they  were  advancing  through  the  dense 
thickets,  so  dense  that  they  were  obliged  to 
thread  their  way  in  Indian  file,  Rogers  amused 
himself  one  morning  before  the  hour  for  march- 
ing had  come,  with  firing  at  a  mark  with  a 
British  officer.  It  was  of  course  the  most  reck- 


CAMPAIGN  OP   1758.  89 

less  mistake  that  could  have  been  made.  Mo- 
lung's  party  of  Indians  was  near  enough  to 
hear  the  report,  and  the  wary  enemy  pushed 
around  until  he  came  to  an  ambuscade  through 
which  the  retreating  Provincials  would  have  to 
pass.  There  he  intended  to  take  his  bloody 
advantage. 

The  American  troops,  numbering  about  five 
hundred,  were  in  three  divisions  ;  the  first  was 
led  on  by  Major  Putnam  ;  Capt.  Dalzell  com- 
manded the  second ;  and  the  third  was  under 
Major  Rogers.  No  sooner  had  the  van  em- 
erged from  the  dense  thicket  through  which 
they  had  been  creeping,  upon  the  compara- 
tively open  plain,  than  the  savages  fell  upon 
them  with  surprising  fury.  They  had  been 
skilfully  posted  all  along  the  way,  and  from 
their  coverts  behind  the  tree-trunks  made  sure 
of  a  man  for  every  fire.  Rogers  behaved  in  a 
manner  that  was  at  the  time  thought  cowardly ; 
but  Putnam  pressed  on  with  heated  resolution, 
and  ordered  Dalzell  to  hasten  forward  with  his 
division  to  his  relief. 

In  a  short  time  the  fight  became  a  desperate 
one.  Now  it  was  hand  to  hand,  and  now  they 
8* 


90  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

fired  at  one  another  from  behind  the  protec- 
tion of  the  forest  trees.  First  this  side  seemed 
to  prevail,  and  then  that.  A  gigantic  savage 
approached  Putnam  to  take  his  life.  The  lat- 
ter snapped  his  fusee,  having  it  pressed  close 
against  the  Indian's  breast.  It  missed  fire,  and 
the  savage  sprang  upon  him  with  all  his  native 
ferocity,  and  instantly  made  him  a  prisoner. 
He  took  him  and  tied  him  securely  to  a  tree 
which  was  close  at  hand,  and  then  resumed 
his  hot  work  in  the  battle. 

The  conflict  went  on  with  redoubled  rage. 
Capt.  Dalzell  took  the  command,  and  pressed 
hard  upon  the  foe  at  one  time,  when  they  would 
recover  from  their  disadvantage  and  dash  against 
the  Provincials  with  increased  fury  and  mad- 
ness in  turn.  Putnam  was  bound  to  the  tree  all 
the  while,  and,  as  the  battle  went  on,  he  was 
several  times  placed  almost  in  the  centre  of 
the  fire  between  the  two  parties !  His  clothes 
were  pierced  with  bullets,  but  he  was  himself 
providentially  unhurt.  When  once  the  Provin- 
cials were  driven  far  back,  and  he  found  him- 
self surrounded  by  the  enemy,  two  or  three 
young  savages  amused  themselves  by  hurling 


p 

I'l  TN  AM    HKT\VKKX  TWO    FIRES. 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  91 

their  tomahawks  at  the  tree,  so  as  to  just  graze 
his  head.  Finally  a  cruel  Frenchman  presented 
his  gun  to  Putnam's  breast,  intending  to  des- 
patch him  at  once ;  but  finding  it  would  not 
go  off,  he  clubbed  it  and  dealt  him  a  blow 
upon  his  cheek,  and  left  him,  expecting  that  he 
had  made  an  end  of  him. 

The  enemy  were  at  last  driven  back  by  the 
Provincials,  but  in  their  hasty  retreat  they  were 
careful  to  unbind  their  prisoner  and  carry  him 
along  with  them.  He  was  weary  and  faint, 
weak  from  the  abuses  that  had  been  visited 
upon  him,  and  almost  broken  hearted  at  the 
thought  of  being  led  off  through  the  wilderness 
into  captivity.  The  Indians  who  had  charge 
of  him,  tied  his  wrists  tightly  with  cords,  so 
that  they  were  badly  swollen  and  exceedingly 
painful.  They  even  strapped  heavy  burdens 
upon  his  back  besides.  He  begged  them  to 
kill  him  outright,  and  put  him  out  of  his  suffer- 
ing at  once.  They  compelled  him  to  walk  over 
a  rough  and  hard  country,  with  nothing  at  all 
on  his  feet,  which  of  course  increased  the  pain 
he  endured  indescribably.  But  after  a  time 
his  savage  captor  came  up,  and  gave  him  a 


92  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

pair  of  moccasins  for  his  feet,  besides  removing 
the  cruel  burden  from  his  shoulders. 

Ha^  this  chief  continued  with  him  on  the 
journey,  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  un- 
fortunate prisoner.  But  as  he  was  compelled 
to  go  back  to  look  after  the  wounded,  some 
two  hundred  Indians  went  on  with  their  cap- 
tive, and  soon  came  into  what,  seemed  the  very 
heart  of  the  wilderness.  Here  they  stopped, 
and  held  a  consultation.  It  was  resolved  at 
length  to  take  their  prisoner  and  roast  him  to 
death  by  a  slow  fire !  Such  fiendish  torture 
was  exactly  suited  to  their  savage  instincts. 
Accordingly  they  stripped  him  of  his  clothes, 
bound  him  to  a  tree,  and  piled  faggots  and 
brushwood  in  a  circle  around  him.  He  looked 
on  in  courageous  silence,  and  prepared  his 
thoughts  for  the  end  that  seemed  near  at  hand. 
His  tormentors  began  to  yell  and  dance  around 
him.  The  fire  was  kindled,  and  the  flames  be- 
gan slowly  to  creep  up  towards  him.  The 
savages  screamed  in  wild  delight  The  fire 
grew  hotter  and  hotter,  and  the  suffering 
victim,  writhing  and  twisting,  turned  him- 
self from  side  to  side.  The  first  time  the  fire 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1758.  93 

was  kindled,  a  sudden  fall  of  rain  quenched  it ; 
but  after  the  second  trial,  it  burnt  with  great  rap- 
idity. The  more  he  writhed  in  his  speechless 
agony,  the  louder  the  savages  yelled  in  their 
wild  delight,  and  the  more  frantic  became 
their  motions  in  their  barbaric  dances.  He 
fixed  his  thoughts  on  the  loved  ones  at  home, 
and  made  ready  to  die  whenever  the  last  mo- 
ment should  come. 

Suddenly  a  French  officer  came  dashing  up 
through  the  crowd,  kicked  away  the  burning 
faggots  and  branches,  cut  the  thongs  by  which 
he  was  tied  to  the  tree,  and  released  him.  It 
was  Molang  himself.  He  had  heard  of  these 
inhuman  barbarities  of  the  Indians  towards  their 
distinguished  captive,  and  hastened  on  to  save 
him  from  the  fate  which  he  knew  awaited  him. 
Had  he  come  a  few  minutes  later,  it  would 
probably  have  been  all  over  with.  He  pas- 
sionately upbraided  the  Indians  for  their  cru- 
elty, and  took  the  prisoner  under  his  own 
charge  for  the  rest  of  the  journey. 

Putnam  suffered  excessively  all  the  way  to 
Ticonderoga,  although  he  was  treated  with 
kindness  and  courtesy.  When  he  reached  that 


94  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

fortress,  he  was  presented  a  prisoner  to  the 
Marquis  Montcalm,  the  French  commander,  by 
whom  he  was  soon  after  sent  under  a  proper 
escort  to  Montreal.  Col.  Peter  Schuyler  was 
a  prisoner  there,  with  others  at  the  time,  and 
he  paid  Putnam  great  attention  and  civility. 
It  was  through  his  influence  that  he  was  fin- 
ally exchanged  for  a  French  prisoner,  captured 
by  Col.  Bradstreet  at  the  assault  on  Fronte- 
nac,  now  Kingston,  in  upper  Canada.  In  Mon- 
treal, too,  Major  Putnam  became  acquainted 
with  the  lovely  prisoner,  Mrs.  Howe,  whom  he 
escorted  back  in  safety  to  her  friends  in  New 
England.  His  final  release  was  hailed  with 
joy  by  his  numerous  friends  throughout  the 
combined  English  and  Provincial  army.  They 
had  never  expected  to  see  him  alive  again. 


CHAPTER     V. 

END   OF  THE  FRENCH  WAR. 

THE  campaign  of  1759  opened  new  pros- 
pects to  the  English  arms  on  this  continent. 
Then  for  the  first  time  the  ministry  saw 
that  they  had  a  chance  to  make  up  for  their  past 
reverses,  and  it  gave  them  hope  and  courage 
accordingly. 

During  this  year,  Major  Putnam  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Colonel ;  a  rank  which 
no  one  will  dispute  he  had  richly  earned  with 
his  patriotic  and  self-denying  services.  The 
ministry  recalled  Abercrombie,  on  account  of 
his  manifest  inefficiency,  and  placed  in  his  stead, 
General  Amherst,  a  man  in  every  respect  his 
superior,  and  well  worthy  of  the  high  confidence 
that  was  reposed  in  him. 

During  this  year  General  Wolfe  fell  on  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  before  Quebec,  in  the  midst 


96  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

of  victory.  It  was  a  brilliant  victory  gained, 
but  it  cost  the  army  and  England  dearly.  Wolfe 
was  a  commander  who  could  be  illy  spared  from 
any  army.  In  one  sense,  he  threw  his  life  away 
in  carrying  forward  this  daring  assault  upon 
Quebec,  since  he  felt  that  the  ministry  were 
already  dissatisfied  with  one  shortcoming  of 
which  he  was  guilty,  and  he  now  wished  to 
prove  to  them  that  they  had  not  placed  their 
confidence  in  him  to  no  purpose. 

Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  likewise  fell 
before  the  approach  of  Gen.  Amherst,  who  had 
but  to  make  his  appearance  before  those  most 
important  posts,  in  order  to  insure  their  ready 
surrender  and  evacuation.  The  commander  at 
Ticonderoga  saw  very  soon  that  he  had  some 
one  else  than  Abercrombie,  of  the  year  before,  to 
deal  with,  and  capitulated  without  offering  to 
strike  a  blow. 

Putnam  accompanied  Arnhcrst  in  his  expedi- 
tion during  this  year  both  to  Ticonderoga  and 
Crown  Point;  and  his  services  were  not  a  whit 
behind  what  they  had  been  heretofore  for  prompt- 
ness and  general  value.  lie  hud  as  much  to  do, 
personally,  as  any  other  individual,  in  strengthen- 


END   OF  THE  FRENCH   WAR.  97 

ing  the  works  about  Crown  Point ;  and  superin- 
tended them  with  his  customary  vigilance  and 
skill. 

In  1760  the  English  ministry  sent  word  over 
that  they  wished  Amherst  to  strike  one  vigorous 
and  final  blow,  and  so  reduce  the  Canadas 
altogether.  Amherst  therefore  projected  his  fa- 
mous expedition  against  Montreal,  which  was 
now  the  only  other  important  post  to  which 
attention  remained  to  be  directed.  He  divided 
the  army  into  three  parts ;  one  started  for  Quebec, 
under  Gen.  Murray,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
force  before  commanded  by  the  lamented  Wolfe ; 
a  second  moved  forward  from  Crown  Point,  by 
way  of  Isle-Aux-Noix,  under  the  command  of 
Col.  Haviland ;  and  the  third  was  put  in  motion 
by  Gen.  Amherst  himself,  who  passed  up  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  and  thence  to  Oswego,  at  which 
place  a  force  of  a  thousand  Indians,  under  Sir 
William  Johnson,  was  added,  making  some  eleven 
thousand  in  all.  Lieut  Col.  Putnam  went  with 
the  Commander-in-Chief. 

The  plan  was,  to  have  all  their  forces  arrive 
before  Montreal  upon  the  same  day,  if  possible. 
Amherst  embarked  on  Lake  Ontario,  captured  a 


98  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

fort  on  his  way,  and  happened  to  arrive  before 
Montreal  on  the  very  same  day  on  which  Gen. 
Murray  reached  that  point  from  Quebec.  It 
was  a  happy  coincidence.  What  was  still  more 
fortunate,  Col.  Haviland  came  up  with  his  Crown 
Point  troops  on  the  very  next  day!  The  con- 
certed design  so  far  certainly  worked  admirably. 

The  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  was  in  command 
at  Montreal,  and  he  had  prepared  himself  to 
withstand,  as  he  thought,  any  assault  that  might 
be  made  upon  the  city.  But  as  soon  as  he  saw 
the  vastly  superior  army  that  had  suddenly  made 
its  appearance  against  him,  and  from  three  differ- 
ent quarters  at  the  same  time,  he  determined  to 
offer  terms  of  capitulation.  They  were  accepted 
without  any  delay,  or  any  bloodshed,  and 
Montreal  became  the  possession  of  the  English. 
From  that  day,  of  course,  the  Canadas  passed 
into  other  hands.  It  was  the  crowning  act  of  all 
the  rest.  After  so  many  trials  and  reverses,  it 
had  resulted  gloriously  for  the  English  arms 
at  the  last. 

It  was  while  Lieut.  Col.  Putnam  was  passing 
up  with  Gen.  Amherst  to  the  attack  on  Montreal, 
that  he  performed  the  feat  that  is  records  of  him 


END   OF   THE   FRENCH   WAR.  99 

at  the  fort  on  Isle  Royal.  It  was  necessary  for  Am- 
herst  to  capture  this  fort,  since  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  leave  such  a  fortress  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  behind  him.  The  fort  was  named  Oswe- 
gatchie,  and  was  built  on  the  island  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  river  of  the  same  name.  Two 
armed  vessels  faithfully  guarded  the  entrance, 
and  likewise  swept  the  whole  stream.  Unless 
these  were  put  out  of  the  way,  Amherst  could 
not  hope  to  proceed. 

While  the  General  was  pondering  on  the  way 
in  which  he  could  get  out  of  his  dilemma, 
Putnam  proposed  to  go  and  take  the  vessels 
himself.  "  How  ? "  asked  his  surprised  com- 
mander. "  With  a  beetle  and  wedges,"  answered 
the  courageous  Putnam.  The  General  knew 
what  a  character  Putnam  had  proved  himself  to 
be  before,  and  gave  him  authority  to  go  ahead, 
though  he  did  not  believe  that  anything  would 
come  of  it.  Putnam  took  a  few  men  with  him 
in  a  boat,  and  after  nightfall  started  off  in  the 
silence  and  darkness.  Getting  under  the  vessels' 
sterns  unperceived,  he  drove  the  wedges  in  on . 
each  side  of  their  rudders,  and  thus  prevented 
their  obeying  the  will  of  any  pilot  on  deck.  Both 


100  OKN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

the  vessels  were  driven  ashore  by  the  wind,  being 
helpless  in  the  hands  of  their  commanders,  and 
struck  at  once  to  the  summons  of  fhe  English 
officers,  who  were  ready  to  meet  them  as  soon 
as  their  crews  landed.  This  incident  has  been 
very  strongly  denied  by  many,  yet  there  is  enough 
foundation  for  it  in  fact  to  make  it  worth  telling. 
In  the  year  1762,  England  found  herself  con- 
siderably shorn  of  her  strength,  and  coalitions 
between  some  of  the  other  nations  of  the  con- 
tinent were  apparently  forming  against  her. 
Spain  was  quite  ready  to  co-operate  with  France 
in  her  endeavor  to  regain  what  she  had  thus  far 
lost  in  America.  The  colonies  were  required  to 
furnish  still  more  men  in  order  to  meet  this  new 
movement.  In  February,  1762,  the  French  island, 
Martinique,  one  of  the  West  Indies,  was  captured 
by  the  British.  The  Caribbees,  too,  were  all 
taken  by  the  same  power.  And  finally  a  large 
naval  force,  consisting  of  nearly  forty  vessels, 
and  counting  ten  thousand  men,  were  sent 
against  Havana.  They  succeeded  in  landing 
upon  the  island  of  Cuba,  but  could  not  make 
any  headway.  A  pestilence  broke  out  among 
the  troops,  to  whom  the  tropical  climate  was  en- 


END   OF  THE   FRENCH  WAR.  101 

tirely    un suited,    and   in   less   than   two   months 
more  than  half  of  their  number  were  swept  off. 

Reinforcements,  however,  came  along  in  good 
time  from  the  colonies,  consisting  of  over  two 
thousand  men  in  all,  of  whom  Connecticut  alone 
furnished  one  thousand  under  command  of  Gen. 
Lyman.  He  having  afterwards  been  appointed 
commander  of  the  entire  Provincial  force,  Lieut. 
Col.  Putnam  accordingly  took  command  of  the 
Connecticut  regiment.  They  experienced  very 
severe  weather  on  their  way  to  Cuba,  and  the 
ship-load  under  Putnam  \vas  finally  wrecked 
off  the  coast.  Putnam  displayed  all  his  cus- 
tomary coolness  during  the  gale,  giving  orders 
to  the  men,  and  preserving  strict  discipline 
throughout  the  fearful  scene.  The  men  con- 
structed rafts,  which  were  launched  and  sent 
ashore  successfully.  By  the  aid  of  the  line  thus 
secured  to  the  land,  the  rafts  were  kept  going 
and  coming  to  and  from  the  ship,  and  all  the 
troops  were  at  length  landed  in  safety.  Put- 
nam constructed  fortifications  for  his  camp,  and 
waited  until  the  siorm  subsided,  when  the 
troops  re-embarked,  and  in  a  few  days  arrived 
at  Havana. 


102  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

The  harbor  of  this  famous  ocean  city  is  de- 
fended by  two  forts ;  on  the  east,  the  Moro, 
and  on  the  west,  the  Punto.  The  British  com- 
mander, Albcmarle,  besieged  the  former  wi'.h 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  men.  The  siege  was 
protracted,  and  put  the  soldiers  to  their  high- 
est endurance.  After  overcoming  many  and 
fearful  obstacles,  they  succeeded  in  effecting  a 
lodgement  in  a  certain  part  of  the  fortress,  when 
they  sprung  a  mine  previously  prepared  and 
threw  down  enough  of  the  masonry  to  give 
them  a  chance  to  enter.  The  work  of  storming 
was  Ihen  carried  forward  with  vigor  and  success. 
About  live  hundred  of  the  surprised  Spanish 
garrison  were  killed,  and  the  remnant  were 
forced  to  beg  for  quarter,  which  of  course  was 
grantect  Having  thus  obtained  possession  of 
this  fortress,  which  had  hitherto  been  deemed 
impregnable,  the  British  were  able  to  command 
the  city,  against  which  they  accordingly  pointed 
their  cannon.  The  governor  general  refused  to 
surrender,  whereupon  Lord  Albemarle  opened 
a  fire  upon  the  town.  This  speedily  brought 
vcellency  to  terms.  He  offered  to  accept 
:s  of  capitulation  as  the  British  might 


END   OF  THE   FRENCH   WAR.  10-3 

see  fit  to  propose.  The  harbor  and  city  of 
Havana,  together  with  about  a  quarter  of 
the  whole  island  of  Cuba  thus  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  British,  whose  arms  were  after- 
wards properly  respected  by  the  powers  that 
had  dared  to  combine  against  them.  From 
this  day,  peace  began  to  assume  a  permanent 
character  on  this  continent,  for  which  the  ha- 
rassed colonies,  that  had  all  the  while  been  he- 
roically fighting  the  battles  of  the  mother  coun- 
try, were  not  the  least  grateful. 

It  was  now  a  century  and  a  half  that  this 
struggle  had  been  going  on  between  France 
and  England  for  the  mastery  of  this  continent. 
It  had  finally  been  decided  in  favor  of  the 
latter  power  ;  and  it  was  now  expected  that 
France  would  acquiesce,  and  that  wa^  would 
come  to  an  end.  The  Indians  were  not  sup- 
posed to  be  interested  in  continuing  the  war- 
fare, since  neither  nation  would  be  likely  any 
longer  to  require  their  services.  Yet  this  opin- 
ion proved  to  be  a  mistaken  one.  They  had 
a  yearning  desire  to  regain  the  lands  they  had 
lost  to  the  white  race,  and  so  made  a  final 
stand  for  that  purpose.  The  colonial  govern- 


104  GEX.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

ors  hold  repented  conferences  \viih  some  of  the 
Indian  chiefs,  and  tried  to  pacify  them  by  ns- 
suring  them  of  their  friendship  ;  but  the  red 
IM-M  did  not  like  the  looks  of  the  forts  with 
whie-h  the  English  were  encircling  their  terri- 
tories. Accordingly  several  of  the  tribes  con- 
certed to  make  a  vigorous  attack  upon  their 
common  enemy,  and  did  succeed  in  surprising 
and  capturing  a  number  of  their  forts  ;  some 
of  them  of  great  importance.  At  the  head  of 
lliis  warlike  movement  was  the  well-known  In- 
dian chief,  Pontiac. 

Under  his  lead,  the  savages  intended  to  ex- 
tend their  power  along  the  line  of  the  great 
lakes,  gradually  surrounding  the  English  and 
hemming  them  in.  Amherst  thereupon  hast- 
ened to,  concentrate  his  forces  at  the  several 
forts  on  the  frontier,  and  made  ready  to  repel 
them.  Captain  Dalzell  made  his  way  through 
the  forest  to  the  fort  at  Detroit,  which  was  al- 
ready surrounded  by  the  Indians;  after  which, 
he  sallied  fort  airain  and  gave  them  battle,  in 
the  early  gray  of  the  morning.  In  his  gener- 
ous and  brave  endeavor  to  rescue  one  of  his 


END  OF  THE   FRENCH  WAR.  105 

wounded  officers,  he  was  shot  by  the  enemy, 
and  they  both  fell  dead  together. 

The  next  year,  Col.  Putnam  went  to  the  fron- 
tier with  a  Connecticut  regiment,  which  con- 
sisted of  four  hundred  men.  In  this  expedi- 
tion, also,  went  Brant,  the  famous  Indian 
partisan.  The  savages  still  surrounded  De- 
troit, preventing  the  garrison  from  moving  out 
at  all,  by  which  means  they  had  become  sadly 
reduced  in  provisions  and  energy.  A  little 
schooner  had  been  sent  with  a  load  of  pro- 
visions to  their  relief,  which  was  attacked 
fiercely  by  the  Indians,  but  had  managed  by 
good  luck  to  escape.  With  the  timely  help 
thus  offered,  the  commander  was  able  to  hold 
out  until  reinforcements  arrived.  As  soon  as 
the  savages  were  assured  that  these  latter  were 
approaching,  they  began  to  disperse  through  the 
forest,  afraid  to  risk  a  battle.  In  the  course  of 
the  same  season,  too,  a  permanent  peatee'  wds? 
finally*  made  with  them,  and  thus  the  terrors 
of  war  ceased  over  the  land. 

Col,  Putnam  wrote  a  letter  from  the  frontier 
to  a  friend  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  —  Major 
Drake,  —  setting  forth  the  condition  of  affairs* 


106  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

at  the  time  in  the  camp.  It  is  exceedingly 
interesting,  and  contains  a  lively  record  of  the 
transactions  in  his  locality.  It  was  published 
in  the  Boston  Gazette,  in  December,  1764. 

The  wars  having  happily  come  to  an  end, 
and  all  rumors  of  wars  having  ceased  through- 
out the  land,  Col.  Putnam  found  himself  once 
more  settled  peacefully  upon  his  Connecticut 
farm,  rejoiced  to  return  to  those  pleasanter  pur- 
suits that  are  especially  delightful  to  men  tired  of 
the  profession  of  arms.  He  had  been  an  active 
soldier  for  ten  years.  He  had  no  knowledge 
of  military  science,  or  strategy,  when  he  be- 
gan, but  when  he  returned  again  to  the  peace- 
ful pursuits  of  agriculture,  he  was  in  possession 
of  an  experience  that  was  worth  all  the  strictly 
technical  discipline  in  the  world.  In  fact,  he  had 
thus  imperceptibly  been  training  for  that  other 
and  wider  field  on  which  he  appeared  to  such 
advantage,  and  whereon  he  achieved  such  deeds 
of  high  renown, — the  battle-field  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution. 

What  he  had  learned  by  this  rough  and  rug- 
ged experience  of  the  seven  years'  war,  was  all 
his  own.  It  was  worth  everything,  both  to 


EXD    OF   THE   FRENCH   WAR.  107 

himself  and  his  country.  It  was  around  such 
a  man  that  his  fellow  citizens  would  be  likely 
to  rally  in  an  emergency  like  that  which  arose 
a  little  more  than  ten  years  afterwards.  He 
could  inspire  them  by  his  ardor,  and  enthusiasm, 
and  patriotic  purpose,  —  and  he  could  also  hold 
them  together  in  solid  and  resistless  masses,  by 
the  naked  power  of  his  character,  his  example, 
and  his  will. 

He  had  not  been  home  long,  when  his  wife 
sickened  and  died.  It  was  a  terrible  blow  for 
him,  and  the  grief  that  grew  out  of  it  gnawed 
sorely  at  his  manly  heart.  She  was  the  wife 
of  his  youth.  They  had  lived  together  as  man 
and  wife  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  was  a 
cruel  snapping  asunder,  therefore,  of  the  tender- 
est  ties  that  can  hold  two  human  souls  to- 
gether. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

OPENING   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 

IT  is  to  be  supposed,  at  this  day,  that  every 
one  who  can  read  understands  the  causes 
that  led  the  American  people  to  take  up 
arms  against  the  mother  country.  They  had 
sacrificed  everything  for  the  sake  of  preserving 
her  honor;  they  had  generously  fought  her 
battles  ;  her  name  and  renown  were  as  dear  to 
them  as  it  could  be  to  a  son  of  England  born :  — 
but  the  same  spirit  that  made  them  such  devoted 
sons,  rendered  it  likewise  impossible  for  them  to 
be  craven  suppliants,  begging  for  favors. 

King  George  the  Third  was  possessed  of  an 
idea  that  the  American  colonies  were  chiefly 
useful  to  his  throne  for  the  revenues  which  they 
could  be  made  to  pay  into  the  royal  treasury. 
Both  himself  and  his  successive  cabinets  enter- 
tained that  mistaken  idea,  and  attempted  to 


OPENING  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       109 

practise  upon  it  in  administering  the  government 
for  their  foreign  colonies.  And  out  of  this  very 
mistake  grew  the  American  Revolution.  It  began 
with  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  at  first;  then 
followed  protests ;  next,  talk  of  outright  refusal 
to  do  what  was  commanded ;  then  the  refusal 
itself,  which  was  rebellion ;  and  finally  the  great 
and  simultaneous  movement  assumed  the  digni- 
fied form  and  character  of  a  Revolution.  This 
same  American  Revolution  marks  one  of  the 
brightest  and  most  hallowed  spots  on  the  page 
of  History. 

In  the  first  place,  the  British  ministry  had 
caused  to  be  issued  what  were  styled  Writs  of 
Assistance,  which  were  ordered  for  the  purpose 
of  hunting  up  and  seizing  wherever  found,  any 
articles  that  had  been  smuggled  into  the  colonies 
from  on  ship-board,  without  paying  the  tax  im- 
posed on  them.  Several  of  the  eloquent  and 
bold  orators  of  the  day,  including  such  men  as 
Otis  and  Adams,  fiercely  denounced  the  high- 
handed measure,  and  counselled  public  disobe- 
dience of  the  order.  As  a  necessary  result,  such 
goods  as  were  found  to  have  been  brought  into 
the  colonies  without  having  paid  the  regular 
10 


110  GEN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

duties,  were  at  once  seized,  wherever  found,  and 
sold ;  which  would  be  likely  rather  to  add  to  the 
flame  of  public  feeling  already  burning,  than  to 
assist  in  allaying  its  fervent  heat. 

It  was  Grenville  who  first  laid  the  plan  to 
directly  tax  the  American  colonies,  who  was  at 
the  time  King  George's  prime  minister.  Every- 
where the  proposition  was  met  with  the  most 
indignant  denunciations.  But  all  this  seemed 
to  make  no  difference.  Inasmuch  as  the  people 
of  America  had  determined  that  it  was  both 
odious  and  wrong  that  they  should  be  taxed  for 
the  benefit  of  the  mother  country,  the  ministry 
determined  in  their  blind  obstinacy  that  they 
should  be  taxed  all  the  sooner  for  having  dared 
to  express  their  opinions.  It  was  a  matter  of 
will,  from  the  beginning.  The  English  govern- 
ment meant  to  rule  the  people  of  the  colonies 
by  the  mere  strength  of  its  will.  But  after  many 
long  years,  and  a  weary  struggle  against  obstacles 
whose  force  the  world  will  never  fully  understand, 
that  imperious  will  was  humbled  and  broken. 
The  people  triumphed,  as,  with  the  right  on  their 
side,  they  ever  must  prevail. 

The  passage  of  tho   Stamp   Act,  in  the  year 


OPENING   OF  THE   REVOLUTION.  Ill 

1765,  brought  the  matter  to  something  like  a 
head.  As  soon  as  the  news  was  received  in  this 
country,  the  excitement  and  indignation  knew 
no  bounds.  The  citizens  of  Boston  and  Phila- 
delphia caused  the  bells  to  be  tolled,  in  token  of 
their  grief.  The  people  of  New  York  marched 
in  procession  through  the  streets,  bearing  a  copy 
of  the  odious  Act,  with  the  representation  of  a 
death's  head  attached  to  it,  before  them,  to  which 
they  appended  the  motto — "  The  Folly  of  Eng- 
land, and  the  Ruin  of  America."  The  stamped 
papers  that  were  sent  over,  were  seized  and 
destroyed ;  and  the  agents  of  the  government, 
who  were  appointed  to  execute  the  law,  were 
forced  to  throw  up  their  offices. 

Col.  Putnam  entered  into  the  general  spirit  of 
resistance  to  such  tyrannical  exactions,  with  all 
the  ardor  of  his  warm  and  honest  nature.  He 
was  active  in  stirring  up  his  fellow  citizens  on  all 
sides  to  resistance.  He  likewise  forwarded,  by 
every  means  in  his  power,  the  plans  that  were 
formed  among  the  colonies  for  harmony  of  action 
in  this  most  important  matter. 

Mr.  Ingersoll  had  been  appointed  the  stamp 
master  for  Connecticut ;  and  Putnam,  with  others, 


112  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

was  determined  not  to  let  him  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office.  The  committee  who  waited 
upon  him,  requested  him  to  resign  ;  but  as  he  did 
not  answer  them  with  a  Yes  or  a  No,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  take  steps  to  make  him  comply  with 
their  wishes.  Putnam  was  an  active  adviser  in 
the  entire  movement.  He  had  recently  been  laid 
up  by  an  accident  himself,  but  he  gave  particular 
directions  how  to  proceed.  A  body  of  men  were 
collected  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  colony,  who 
marched  to  Hartford,  where  they  were  told  that 
Mr.  Ingersoll  would  be  present  on  the  following 
day.  He  was  reported  to  be  then  on  his  way 
from  New  Haven.  Instantly  the  party  started 
off  to  meet  him  by  the  way.  They  came  upon 
him  at  Wethersfield,  where  they  made  him  sign 
his  own  resignation,  and  certify  likewise  that  he 
did  so  "  of  his  own  free  will  and  accord,  and 
without  any  equivocation  or  mental  reservation." 
They  then  stood  him  on  a  table,  compelled  him 
to  read  aloud  the  paper  he  had  just  signed,  and 
afterwards  to  shout  three  times  —  "  Liberty  and 
Property ! "  The  crowd  responded  with  due 
heartiness,  honored  him  with  a  public  dinner, 
and  then  escorted  him  in  safely  >>  Hartford, 


OPENING   OF  THE  REVOUJTIOX.  113 

where  he  publicly  read  his  resignation  a  second 
time,  to  the  delight  and  satisfaction  of  everybody 
who  had  turned  out  to  hear  it.  There  was  not 
the  least  hard  feeling  over  it,  but  the  whole  trans- 
action was  relished  as  a  capital  joke, —  which  it 
certainly  was;  besides  being,  likewise,  a  deter- 
mined piece  of  business. 

Col.  Putnam  subsequently  had  a  personal 
interview  with  the  colonial  Governor  respecting 
the  impossibility  of  enforcing  so  hateful  an  act 
of  parliament,  which  was  perfectly  characteristic 
of  the  intrepid  temper  of  the  man.  The  Governor 
asked  Putnam  what  he  should  do  with  the  stamp- 
ed paper,  if  it  should  be  entrusted  to  him  by  the 
King's  authority.  "Lock  it  up,"  answered  Put- 
nam, "  and  give  us  the  key."  His  excellency  wish- 
ed to  know  what  next.  "We  will  send  you  the 
key  safely  again,"  said  Putnam.  "  But  if  I  should 
refuse  you  admission  to  the  room  where  it  is 
kept?"  asked  the  Governor.  "  Then  we  shall  tear 
down  your  house  for  you  !  "  replied  the  determined 
hero  of  the  seven  years'  war.  The  story  of  this 
interview  of  Putnam  with  the  Governor  got 
abroad,  and  no  stamped  paper  was  ever  sent  into 
the  Connecticut  colony.  So  loud  were  the  pro- 
10* 


114  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

tests,  and  so  open  was  the  defiance  exhibited  on 
the  part  of  the  colonists,  that  the  ministry  finally 
concluded  to  review  their  former  determination, 
and  the  Stamp  Act  was  accordingly  annulled. 
As  soon  as  the  welcome  news  reached  this  coun- 
try, the  change  in  the  public  feeling  was  too 
marked  not  to  be  heeded  with  thoughtful  care  by 
the  ministry.  Thanksgivings  and  rejoicings  were 
offered  on  every  side.  Gladness  beamed  from 
every  countenance.  The  talk  of  the  people  was 
now  of  their  renewed  affection  for  England  and 
the  King,  and  the  general  heart  settled  down  into 
the  calm  joy  that  attends  upon  peace. 

Trade  instantly  revived,  and  prosperity  reigned. 
So  violent  a  storm  was  succeeded  by  so  placid  a 
calm,  that  it  makes  one  happy  even  at  this 
distant  day  to  contemplate  it.  Col.  Putnam 
resumed  his  usual  occupations  on  his  farm  again, 
and  in  their  pursuit  reaped  the  rich  rewards  that 
attend  upon  intelligent  and  contented  labor.  He 
met  with  one  or  two  quite  severe  accidents, 
during  this  season  of  peace,  from  which  he  never 
wholly  recovered.  It  was  at  this  time,  too,  that 
he  added  the  calling  of  inn-keeper  to  that  of  a 
farmer,  and  gave  public  notice  that  he  was  ready 


OPENING  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       115 

to  accommodate  the  travelling  public  in  the  most 
faithful  way  he  knew  how ;  and  a  very  popular 
host  he  proved  himself,  too.  People  were  fond 
of  partaking  of  the  generous  cheer  with  which  he 
always  made  their  coming  welcome.  He  hung 
out  his  sign  from  one  of  the  elm  trees  before  his 
door,  upon  which  was  represented  General 
Wolfe  —  the  youthful  hero  of  Quebec  —  in  mil- 
itary uniform,  with  his  right  arm  pointing  at 
something  in  the  distance,  and  a  most  earnest 
and  enthusiastic  expression  upon  his  face.  This 
sign  "is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Historical 
Society  of  Connecticut,  at  their  rooms  in  Hart- 
ford. The  iron  staples  are  still  to  be  seen,  driven 
into  the  old  tree  that  waves  its  green  crown, 
every  summer,  before  the  place  where  stood  his 
hospitable  mansion. 

Gen.  Lyman,  the  old  commander  of  Putnam, 
went  to  England  about  these  times,  to  draw  the 
prize  money  that  belonged  to  the  men  who  served 
under  him  in  the  expedition  against  Havana. 
After  many  years'  vexatious  delay,  he  finally 
succeeded  in  procuring  the  amount  due  them, 
and  returned  home.  A  few  of  the  officers  had  it 
in  their  minds  to  take  their  money  and  purchase 


116  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

a  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Putnam 
accordingly  joined  the  party,  and  started  off  into 
the  wilderness  to  locate  his  purchase  with  the  rest. 
They  sailed  to  the  site  upon  which  New  Orleans 
now  stands,  pushed  up  the  Mississippi,  laid  out 
the  boundaries  of  their  new  colony,  and  returned 
home  again  to  take  the  necessary  steps  to  send 
forward  emigrants.  General  Lyman  did  return 
to  the  place  the  next,  year,  and  founded  a  settle- 
ment where  Natchez  stands  to-day.  Here  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Putnam  sent 
forward  men  for  a  time  in  his  stead,  and  furnish- 
ed them  with  means  to  bring  his  own  portion  of 
the  lands  speedily  under  cultivation.  But  other 
work  was  in  immediate  reserve  for  him,  than 
that  of  leading  forth  a  young  colony  to  the  banks 
of  the  father  of  waters.  Events  were  thickening, 
and  causes  were  ripening,  and  every  sign  gave 
promise  that  some  great  epoch  in  history  was 
close  at  li,ind. 

Although  it  could  be  urged  that  the  odious 
Stamp  Act  had  been  repealed,  yet  the  British 
Parliament  passed  a  declaratory'  act,  to  the  effect 
that  the  mother  country  had  the  right  to  tax  the 
colonies,  which  right  she  should  exercise  just 


OPENING   OF   THE  KEVOLUTION.  117 

when  she  saw  proper.  Mr.  Pitt  was  laid  up 
with  the  gout  at  his  country  seat,  and  Mr. 
Townshend,  who  was  chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
in  his  absence,  brought  forward  a  bill  to  levy 
duties  on  paper,  glass,  painters'  colors,  and  teas. 
He  also  proposed  a  measure  which  aimed  to 
appoint  boards  of  trade  in  the  different  colonies, 
entirely  independent  of  the  colonial  legislatures  ; 
which  was  as  offensive  as  any  measure  of  the 
sort  well  could  be. 

To  these  plans  the  people  of  America  showed 
as  much  resistance  as  ever.  They  began  to  get 
ready  to  oppose  them,  if  the  necessity  finally 
came,  with  force  itself.  The  men  of  experience, 
therefore,  like  Col.  Putnam,  took  great  interest 
in  organizing  and  drilling  bands  of  young  men, 
feeling  that  the  time  was  not  far  off  when  sol- 
diers would  be  chiefly  needed.  This  was  in  the 
year  1767.  The  orators  and  leading  men  exerted 
all  their  influence  to  arouse  the  people  to  a  true 
sense  of  their  degradation  and  wrongs.  Associ- 
ations were  formed  all  over  the  country,  to  further 
the  plans  of  resistance.  The  people  refused  to 
have  any  intercourse  whatever  with  the  mother 
country.  The  ladies  denied  themselves  every- 


118  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM.     • 

thing  like  foreign  luxuries  and  exerted  themselves 
to  make  up  clothing  with  their  own  hands  for 
1hcir  sons,  husbands,  and  fathers.  A  spirit  of 
opposition  pervaded  all  classes  of  society.  Even 
u-a  was  interdicted,  by  general  agreement,  from 
the  table,  because  the  women  would  not  drink 
\vhat  would  help  establish  the  power  of  England. 
The  excitement  grew  greater  every  day.  The 
rrisis  was  approaching,  One  thought  seemed  to 
control  the  public  mind, —  one  resolve  fired  the 
popular  heart. 

The  British  government  of  course  began  now 
to  bear  down  all  the  harder.  They  stationed 
soldiers  in  the  halls  where  the  colonial  legisla- 
tures met,  in  order  to  break  up  their  sittings. 
But  these  bodies  immediately  assembled  in 
of  her  places,  with  still  stronger  determination 
to  resist  the  tyranny  of  the  mother  country. 
The  troops  goaded  the  colonists  almost  beyond 
endurance.  At  last  an  outbreak  did  occur  in 
Kiii£>;  street  in  Boston,  —  now  State  street, — on 
ihe  01  h  of  March,  1770;  when  the  soldiery  fired 
upon  the  citi/ens,  and  killed  several;  the  first 
person  who  fell  was  a  stout  mulatto  fellow  at 
the  head  of  a  party  of  sailors,  whose  name  was 


OPENING   OP  THE   REVOLUTION.  119 

Crispus  Attucks.  Two  others  were  killed  on 
the  spot,  and  two  more  died  a  few  days  after- 
ward. There  had  been  trouble  brewing  for  some 
time  between  the  town  people  and  the  soldiers, 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  day  just  mentioned 
the  first  outbreak  occurred.  Early  the  next 
morning,  Faneuil  Hall  was  crowded  with  ex- 
cited citizens,  who  determined  that  every  for- 
eign soldier  should  be  withdrawn  immediately 
from  Boston.  No  men  were  more  bold  in  their 
denunciations  of  the  soldiery  than  James  Otis 
and  Samuel  Adams.  This  event  occurred  on 
Friday  night ;  the  citizens  met  at  Faneuil  Hall 
on  Saturday  morning  ;  and  on  the  Monday 
following  the  troops  were  withdrawn  and  sent 
to  Castle  William,  in  the  harbor,  and  the  city 
became  composed  and  quiet  again.  There  were 
most  imposing  ceremonies  at  the  burial  of  the 
victims  of  this  sudden  fight,  and  the  "  Boston 
Massacre "  was  a  bloody  story  that  served  to 
stir  still  more  deeply  the  hearts  of  the  people  to 
open  resistance. 

General  Gage  was  the  Royal  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  Province  at  this  time,  and  was 
well  known  to  Putnam  during  the  French  and 


120  GEN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

Indian  war.  There  were  others  also  in  Boston, 
whom  he  had  intimately  known  by  means  of 
the  same  companionship.  He  was  frequently 
there  about  these  days,  and  during  the  preva- 
lence of  the  troubles  that  ushered  in  the  Revo- 
lution. His  voice  was  heard  on  all  important 
occasions,  not  more  by  his  own  countrymen 
than  by  the  British  officers  with  whom  he  had 
before  been  a  companion  in  arms.  He  openly 
counselled  one  party  to  resistance,  and  the  other 
he  expostulated  with  to  no  purpose.  The  Brit- 
ish officers  asked  him  on  which  side  he  should 
be  found,  in  case  it  should  come  to  open  war. 
"  I  shall  be  found  on  the  side  of  my  country  al- 
ways ! "  —  was  his  prompt  and  spirited  reply. 
They  inquired  of  him  again,  how  large  an  army 
it  would  take  to  conquer  the  country  ;  in  other 
words,  if  five  thousand  soldiers  could  not  march 
the  length  and  breadth  of  it,  and  not  be  troubled 
by  the  inhabitants  ?  "  If  they  behaved  them- 
selves, they  could,"  was  his  answer ;  "  but  if 
they  did  not,  and  no  men  were  at  hand,  the 
American  women  would  drive  them  out  of 
the  country  with  broomsticks  !  " 

As  the  difficulties  increased,  and  less  and  less 


OPENING   OF   THE   REVOLUTION.  121 

grew  the  probabilities  that  there  could  for  a 
much  longer  time  be  kept  up  even  the  appear- 
ance of  peace  with  the  mother  country,  com- 
mittees of  vigilance  were  organized  in  the  dif- 
ferent colonies,  whose  duty  it  was  to  hold 
frequent  correspondence  each  with  the  other, 
acquaint  the  different  sections  of  the  country 
with  what  was  going  on,  and  perfect  such 
schemes  for  resistance  as  might  finally  be  of 
the  greatest  service.  Col.  Putnam  was  very 
efficient  upon  one  of  these  committees  in  Con- 
necticut, and  kept  the  people  thoroughly  ap- 
prised of  what  was  going  forward.  Besides 
this,  he  gave  much  time  to  organizing  the  men 
about  him  into  companies,  and  to  drilling  them 
to  the  stern  service  which  was  so  soon  to  be 
required  at  their  hands.  On  one  occasion,  in 
September,  1774,  he  was  the  means  of  creating 
a  false  alarm,  which  called  out  the  people  all 
along  the  line  between  New  York  and  Boston, 
so  that  the  roads  were  covered.  The  story  was, 
that  blood  had  been  shed  in  Boston  by  the  British 
troops,  and  every  heart  beat  warmly  to  avenge 
the  public  wrongs.  It  is  said  that  as  many 

as     thirty    or    forty    thousand     men    flew    in- 
11 


122  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

stantly  to  arms,  believing  that  the  British  were 
firing  upon  the  town  of  Boston.  Gen.  Gage 
saw  what  aii  excitement  the  rumor  had  cre- 
ated, and  knew  from  this  the  temper  of  the 
colonists  ;  and  therefore  concluded  to  fortify 
himself  in  his  position  without  further  delay. 
The  moment  this  alarm  was  given,  Col.  Put- 
nam mounted  his  horee  and  started  off  for 
Boston ;  but  being  met  on  the  way  by  a  cap- 
tain of  militia,  he  learned  that  the  whole  story 
was  false,  and  turned  about  and  rode  home 
again,  reaching  his  house  at  sunrise  on  Sun- 
day morning.  The  rumor  grew  out  of  the 
British  force  having  silently  sailed  up  the  Mys- 
tic river  during  the  night,  and  carried  off  all 
the  powder  that  was  stored  in  the  arsenal  at 
Charlestown. 

When  the  conflict  with  the  power  of  Eng- 
land finally  came  on,  it  was  not  even  then 
supposed  by  the  colonists  that  it  would  in- 
volve their  total  separation  from  the  mother 
country  ;  indeed,  they  had  not  once  seriously 
thought  of  such  a  result,  except  to  deplore  it. 
They  merely  resolved  to  resist,  perhaps  believ- 
ing that  England  would  in  time  relent  in  her 


OPENING  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       123 

tyrannical  demands,  and*  give  them  enduring 
peace  and  prosperity.  Still,  let  the  conse- 
quences be  what  they  might,  they  would  at 
least  resist.  And  while  showing  such  a  spirit, 
the  King  resolved  that  they  should  be  forced  into 
submission.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  British 
statesmen  generally  knew  or  cared  much  about 
the  feelings  of  the  people  of  this  country ;  nor 
did  the  King,  or  his  ministers,  know  or  care 
any  more.  The  whole  plan  was  to  extort 
money  enough  from  the  North  American  col- 
onies to  assist  in  defraying  the  enormous  ex- 
penses of  the  British  Government.  The  de- 
bates in  Parliament  on  the  state  of  America 
were  very  meagre,  showing  that  scarcely  any 
interest  was  taken  in  the  question,  that  was 
at  all  commensurate  with  its  great  import- 
ance. 

Troops  were  quartered  wherever  the  British 
power  thought  their  presence  necessary.  The 
difficulties  began  in  Boston.  Gen.  Gage  hav- 
ing occupied  the  town  with  his  soldiers,  and 
broken  up  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  it 
met  elsewhere,  and  styled  itself  a  Provincial 
Congress.  Committees  of  Safety  were  ap- 


124  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

pointed,  and  it  was  instantly  voted  to  raise 
an  army  of  twelve  thousand  men.  Minute 
men  were  also  enrolled,  to  be  ready  to  march 
at  a  moment's  warning.  Arms  and  ammuni- 
tion were  secured  as  rapidly  as  circumstances 
would  allow.  While  affairs  were  in  this  sit- 
uation, Gen.  Gage  despatched  an  expedition 
of  eight  hundred  men  to  Concord,  twenty  miles 
from  Boston,  to  destroy  the  ammunition  and 
stores  that  were  known  to  be  there  collected. 
This  was  the  night  of  the  18th  of  April,  1775. 
He  was  very  secret  in  his  operations,  yet  not 
so  secret  as  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  col- 
onists, who  were  so  closely  watching  him.  Mes- 
sages were  despatched  to  points  all  along  the 
route  they  would  be  likely  to  take,  directing 
that,  measures  should  be  instantly  taken  to  op- 
pose them. 

When  the  British,  who  were  commanded  by 
Col.  Smith  and  Major  Pitcairn,  reached  Lex- 
ington, which  is  about  half-way  between  Bos- 
ton and  Concord,  it  was  just  day-dawn  on  the 
19th.  They  were  of  course  very  much  aston- 
ished to  find  a  handfull  of  Americans  —  seventy 
in  all  —  drawn  up  on  the  green  to  offer  them 


OPENING!  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       125 

resistance.  Major  Pitcairn  rode  up  before  them 
and  called  out  in  a  tone  of  authority,  thinking 
to  intimidate  them,  —  "  Disperse,  you  rebels  ! 
Throw  down  your  arms,  and  disperse  !  "  But 
they  paid  no  heed  to  his  order  ;  whereupon  he 
discharged  his  own  pistol,  and  ordered  his  troops 
to  fire  into  them.  His  order  was  instantly 
obeyed,  and  four  of  the  Americans  fell  dead. 
The  remainder  rapidly  scattered,  of  whom  three 
more  were  slain  in  climbing  over  the  fences. 
But  they  did  not  flee.  They  were  joined  by 
others,  and  very  soon  large  bodies  of  militia 
were  gathered  in  the  vicinity,  determined  on 
making  further  resistance.  The  British  force  hur- 
ried on  to  Concord,  captured  a  portion  of  the 
stores  they  found  there,  and  retreated  again 
as  fast  as  they  could,  knowing  that  the  whole 
country  round  was  getting  thoroughly  excited 
against  them.  They  had  a  slight  skirmish  at 
Concord,  during  which  two  of  the  American 
and  three  of  the  British  soldiers  were  killed,  and 
several  more  were  wounded.  It  was  at  the 
old  North  bridge,  and  the  spot  is  now  pointed 
out  to  travellers  where  two  of  the  three  Brit- 
ish soldiers  were  slain,  and  where  they  still 
11* 


126  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

lie.  They  succeeded  in  destroying  a  consider- 
able amount  of  stores,  and  broke  open  sixty 
barrels  of  flour,  of  which  they  took  pains  to 
waste  as  much  as  they  could.  They  likewise 
cut  down  the  liberty-pole  in  the  town,  and  set 
the  court-house  on  fire ;  but  a  lady  put  out  the 
fire  before  much  damage  had  been  done. 

Meantime  the  militia  were  collecting  as  fast 
as  they  could  from  all  the  towns  around.  So 
that  when  the  British  set  out  on  their  march 
back  to  Boston,  they  found  themselves  haras- 
sed in  every  conceivable  way.  From  behind 
walls,  and  trees,  and  fences,  and  whatever  other 
concealments  offered,  the  Americans  poured  in 
a  steady  and  well  directed  fire  upon  them,  which 
was  terribly  galling  and  destructive.  The  road- 
sides seemed  to  belch  fire  at  their  retreating 
and  rapidly  thinning  ranks.  Every  tree  con- 
cealed a  musket.  They  could  not  see  their  en- 
emy so  as  to  take  aim  at  them,  and  were  there- 
fore placed  at  every  possible  disadvantage.  So 
rapid  was  the  increase  of  the  Americans,  and 
so  closely  did  they  follow  up  the  retreating 
body  of  the  British,  that  Col.  Smith  resolved 
to  get  back  to  Boston  now  with  all  possible 


OPENING  OP  THE  REVOLUTION.       127 

despatch.  At  Lexington  there  was  another 
severe  skirmish,  and  so  tired  and  jaded  were 
the  British,  they  thought  they  would  be  obliged 
to  surrender. 

Fortunately  for  them,  however,  an  express 
had  been  sent  back  to  Gen.  Gage  in  Boston, 
as  soon  as  the  British  commander  arrived  at 
Lexington  in  the  morning,  acquainting  him 
with  the  astonishing  fact  that  the  whole  coun- 
try was  already  in  arms.  So  that  when  they 
reached  Lexington  again  on  their  return  from 
Concord,  they  were  saved  from  surrender,  or  to- 
tal destruction,  only  by  the  timely  coming  up  of 
the  nine  hundred  men  whom  Gen.  Gage  had 
sent  forward  in  such  hot  haste.  This  detach- 
ment, which  was  commanded  by  Lord  Percy, 
met  the  fatigued  British  about  half  a  mile  be- 
yond Lexington.  It  was  between  two  and 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  As  soon  as 
they  had  formed  a  hollow  square  and  received 
the  retreating  troops  within  its  protecting  lines, 
the  latter  fell  down  upon  the  ground  from  sheer 
exhaustion,  panting  and  lolling  their  tongues 
out  of  their  open  mouths.  After  resting  and 
refreshing  themselves,  both  parties  started  on 


128  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

again  for  Boston.  They  went  out  of  their 
way  to  destroy,  by  burning,  two  houses,  two 
shops,  and  a  barn,  in  Lexington,  and  then 
pushed  on.  But  the  Provincials  had  been  fast 
gathering,  each  man  fighting  for  himself,  and 
getting  ready  to  pour  in  their  fire  again  as 
soon  as  the  British  should  resume  their  march. 
Pitcairn's  horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  his 
pistols  he  was  forced  to  leave  behind  in  their 
holsters.  They  afterwards  carne  into  Gen.  Put- 
nam's possession.  Their  loss  was  very  severe, 
all  the  way.  At  West  Cambridge  they  had 
another  skirmish  with  the  Americans,  in  which 
Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  afterwards  Gen.  Warren, 
came  near  being  shot ;  the  ball  knocking  the 
pin  out  of  an  ear-curl  in  his  hair.  The  Brit- 
ish sacked,  pillaged,  and  murdered,  all  along 
their  bloody  route  to  Boston.  They  came  near 
being  cut  off  entirely  by  reinforcements  of  the 
militia  before  they  could  reach  Charlestown  ; 
but  they  at  last  succeeded  in  securing  their 
safety.  They  camped  on  Bunker  Hill  that 
niifhr,  and  on  the  next  day  went  over  to  Bos- 
ton, considerably  broken  in  spirits,  and  convinced 


OPENING  OP  THE  REVOLUTION.       129 

that  an  army  of  British  could  not  march  through 
the  country  unmolested. 

On  that  19th  of  April,  1775,  the  British  lost 
in  all  two  hundred  arid  seventy-three  men,  of 
whom  sixty  were  slain  ;  the  Provincials  lost 
one  hundred  and  three,  of  whom  fifty-nine  were 
killed.  It  was  not  a  great  fight  in  itself,  but 
it  was  great  and  even  grand  in  its  consequences. 
On  that  day  a  Nation  was  born.  Then  the 
freemen  of  America  learned,  for  the  first  time, 
how  to  stand  and  fight  for  their  own  liberties. 
An  authentic  statement  of  these  occurrences 
was  drawn  up  by  the  American  Committee, 
and  despatched  by  a  vessel  from  Salem  direct 
to  London.  The  latter  city  was  soon  in  as  wild 
an  -excitement,  almost,  as  Boston  was  at  the 
same  moment.  The  ministry  were  openly  taunt- 
ed in  the  streets,  and  told  that  "  the  great  British 
army  at  Boston  had  been  beaten  by  a  flock  of 
Yankees  !  " 

The  news  of  the  battles  of  this  memorable 
day  flew  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  country.  A  man  came 
riding  through  the  quiet  town  of  Pomfret  on 
horse-back,  bearing  a  drum  about  his  neck,  and 


130  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

beating  it  and  calling  out  to  all  whom  he  met, 
—  "  To  arms !  To  arms !  the  first  blood  has  been 
shed  at  Lexington  !  "  Putnam  was  plough- 
ing in  the  field,  at  some  distance  back  from 
his  house,  at  the  time,  and  Capt  Hubbard 
was  also  at  work  in  the  next  lot.  As  soon 
as  they  found  what  was  the  cause  for  the 
alarm,  they  set  out  for  the  place  where  their 
services  would  be  most  likely  to  be  wanted. 
Hubbard  walked  home,  got  ready  his  military 
accoutrements,  and  started  off  for  Boston  in  his 
own  systematic  and  moderate  way.  Putnam 
had  his  little  son  with  him  in  the  field.  He  at 
once  unyoked  his  oxen  and  took  them  out  of 
the  furrow  they  were  ploughing,  sent  word  to 
his  wife  by  the  boy  where  he  had  gone,  took  his 
fastest  horse  from  his  barn,  and  rode  away  at 
such  a  pace  as  we  should  have  expected  from 
a  man  of  his  well-known  character. 

On  the  21st  he  was  at  Cambridge,  where 
he  attended  a  council  of  war  that  was  suddenly 
called  to  provide  for  the  emergency.  By  that 
time,  there  were  at  least  twenty  thousand  Amer- 
ican troops  gathered  around  Boston.  It  was 
resolved  to  fortify  all  the  entrances  to  the  town 


OPENING    OF   THE   REVOLUTION.  131 

without  delay,  and  to  watch  the  movements 
of  the  British  very  closely.  Putnam  was  sent 
for  by  the  Connecticut  Legislature,  which  was 
then  ;:i  srssion  at  Hartford,  to  confer  with  them. 
Pie  hastened  back,  therefore,  for  that  purpose. 
A  regiment  of  troops  was  at  once  organized, 
and  Putnam  put  at  their  head,  with  the  title 
of  Brigadier  General.  He  hurried  back  to  Cam- 
bridge, having  been  absent  only  a  week.  Sev- 
eral who  served  with  him  in  the  French  war, 
now  joined  their  services  with  his  again  in  the 
struggle  for  independence. 

Gen.  Ward  was  commander-general  of  all  the 
forces,  though  such  an  old  and  tried  soldier  as 
Putnam  was  looked  up  to  with  great  respect 
and  confidence  by  the  whole  body  of  \he  hastily 
collected  militia.  It  is  proved  that  these,  two 
generals  for  a  brief  time  divided  the  responsi- 
bility between  them  as  they  best  could.  Ward, 
too,  had  served  along  with  Putnam  at  the  un- 
fortunate storming  of  Ticonderoga,  under  Gen. 
Abercrombie  ;  and  thus  strangely  were  they 
brought  together  again.  The  British  officers 
did  the  best  they  could  to  bribe  over  the  lead- 
ing Americans.  To  Putnam  they  offered  the 


132  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

rank  of  Major  General  in  the  British  army,  a 
large  sum  of  money,  and  generous  provision 
for  his  boys  in  the  future.  But  his  honest 
spirit  spurned  all  their  offers.  He  was  not 
poor  enough  to  consent  to  take  bribes  against 
the  liberties  of  his  own  countrymen. 

Gage  offered  to  let  the  Americans,  who  were 
still  living  in  Boston,  depart  on  condition  they 
would  give  up  their  arms ;  but  as  soon  as  they 
had  complied  with  his  terms,  he  refused  to 
keep  his  word.  This  only  exasperated  the  mi- 
litia so  much  the  more.  It  was  resolved  now 
to  erect  a  line  of  fortifications  all  around  Bos- 
Ion,  stretching  from  Dorchester  Heights  to  Chel- 
sea, a  distance  of  about  twelve  miles.  Into 
this  work  Gen.  Putnam  threw  himself  with 
all  his  usual  energy.  He  had  become  well  ad- 
vanced in  years  by  this  time,  but  his  heart 
beat  as  quick  as  that  of  many  men  not  half 
as  old  as  he.  The  intrenchments  were  all 
thrown  up,  and  every  care  taken  neither  to 
allow  a  British  soldier  to  pass  through  them 
from  out  of  Boston,  nor  any  supplies  to  be  car- 
ried in.  They  therefore  held  the  British  in  the 
town  in  a  regular  state  of  siege. 


OPENING  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.       133 

Putnam  sent  a  party  of  thirty  men,  on  the 
27th  of  May,  over  from  Chelsea  to  Hog  Island, 
to  capture  what  live  stock  was  there,  that  it 
might  not  be  of  service  to  the  British  for  food. 
The  water  was  not  deep,  and  the  men  all  waded 
over,  and  began  to  drive  off  the  cattle.  A  party 
of  marines  were  stationed  there,  however,  and 
a  fight  of  course  ensued  with  them.  A  schooner 
was  at  once  sent  from  the  fleet  in  the  harbor, 
to  help  repel  the  bold  American  militia.  But 
the  party  managed  to  secure  their  prize,  and  re- 
treated in  good  order  and  with  safety.  Putnam 
afterwards  joined  them  with  a  larger  force,  and 
after  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  they  brought 
a  single  cannon  to  bear  on  the  schooner,  com- 
pletely disabling  her,  so  that  she  drifted  on 
shore  ;  and  at  day-break  they  took  whatever 
there  was  valuable  on  board  of  her,  and,  after 
placing  hay  under  her  stern,  set  her  on  fire.  The 
British  were  deeply  chagrined  to  see  one  of 
their  vessels  thus  captured  and  burned  by  a  lit- 
tle force  on  the  land,  but  they  were  unable  to 
help  themselves.  By  this  single  manoeuvre,  the 
Americans  carried  away  many  hundred  sheep 
and  cattle. 

12 


134  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  it  was  agreed  that  an 
exchange  of  prisoners  should  be  effected  be- 
tween the  two  armies.  Gen.  Putnam  and  Dr. 
Warren  acted  on  behalf  of  the  Americans,  and 
received  the  British  party  at  Charlestown  at 
about  noon.  They  marched  under  escort  to 
the  ferry,  and  upon  a  signal  being  given,  Major 
Small  and  Major  Moncrief,  together  with  their 
prisoners,  landed  from  the  British  vessel.  Put- 
nam had  served  with  these  British  officers  in 
tin;  French  and  Indian  war.  They  had  not 
met  since  those  former  days  of  hardship  and 
intimacy.  The  moment  they  landed,  therefore, 
they  forgot  all  else,  and  rushed  into  one  an- 
other's open  arms.  They  embraced  and  kissed 
each  other,  while  the  people  stood  around  and 
wondered  what  so  strange  a  spectacle  could 
mean.  They  afterwards  passed  an  hour  or 
two  in  social  converse,  at  the  house  of  a  gen- 
tleman near  by,  and  at  nightfall  separated  to 
meet  again  in  hostile  array,  only  ten  days  later, 
on  the  heights  of  Bunker  Hill!  So  fierce  is 
war,  and  so  relentless  is  it  in  its  demands. 


I'UTXAM     MEETING   THE  BRITISH  OFFICERS. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL. 

IT  became  necessary  now  for  the  Americans 
to     fortify     Dorchester     and     Charlestown 
Heights,   inasmuch    as   it    had   fceen  given 
out  that  the  British  general  had  resolved  to  do 
it  himself.     They  could  gain  a  great  advantage, 
if  they  could  by  their  celerity  get  the  start  of 
them.     The  enemy  evidently  meant  to  strengthen 
their  position  by  occupying  Charlestown  Heights, 
from  which  they  could  easily  make  an  irruption 
into  the  surrounding  country. 

A  council  of  war  was  therefore  held  at  Cam- 
bridge, at  which  it  was  finally  decided,  though 
all  were  not  in  favor  of  the  plan,  to  march  over 
to  Charlestown  by  night  and  hastily  throw  up  a 
fortification.  Putnam  favored  the  design  with 
all  his  influence  and  arguments.  He  urged,  in 
the  first  place,  that  it  would  astonish  the  enemy 


136  GEN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

to  find  themselves  thus  unexpectedly  outwitted  ; 
ami,  in  the  next  place,  that  even  if  it  brought  on 
an  i  <-nt,  a  battle  would  be  the  best  pos- 

sible ihin^  for  the  iniliiia  that  were  then  collected. 
They  v/ould  rapidly  learn  discipline  under  fire, 
and  their  ranks  would  close  up  with  true  military 
compactness  from  that  day  forward. 

It  was  objected  to  this  proposal,  that  there 
were  then  but  sixty-seven  barrels  of  powder  to 
the  whole  army ;  and  that  it  would  be  hardly  less 
than  insanity  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement, 
with  such  a  trifling  amount  of  ammunition. 
But  Putnam  pleaded  to  have  the  experiment 
tried.  He  feared  nothing  for  the  result.  He 
knew  very  well  that  the  Americans  were  all  good 
marksmen,  and  that  every  soldier  could  kill  his 
man.  Gen.  Warren  tried  to  argue  him  out  of 
his  opinion ;  but  Putnam  was  convinced,  for 
himself,  knowing  what  he  did  of  war  and  its 
results  to  an  undisciplined  force,  that  a  smart 
brush  with  the  enemy  would  lead  to  the  happiest 
consequences. 

Orders  were  therefore  given  by  Major  General 
"Ward, — who  was  the  commander  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts forces,  and  so  by  courtesy  of  the  whole 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  137 

forces  that  were  assembled  around  Boston,  — 
to  Col.  Prescott,  to  go  over  to  Charlestown  on 
the  night  of  the  16th  of  June,  and  throw  up  such 
hasty  intrenchments  as  would  defy  the  efforts  of 
the  British  array  to  dislodge  the  soldiers  within 
them.  A  thousand  men  were  placed  under  his 
command.  It  was  Friday  evening.  Before 
leaving,  that  night,  to  go  upon  their  hazardous 
errand,  they  gathered  on  the  common  in  the 
centre  of  the  town  of  Cambridge,  where  prayers 
were  offered  to  Heaven  on  their  behalf  by  the 
President  of  Harvard  College. 

Gen.  Putnam  undertook  the  supervision  of  the 
expedition,  although  the  work  to  be  done  was 
placed  directly  in  the  hands  of  Col.  Prescott 
Whenever,  indeed,  this  immortal  battle  is  spoken 
of  by  the  people  of  this  country,  it  will  have  to 
be  admitted  that  these  two  men,  above  all  others, 
—  Putnam  and  Prescott,  —  began  and  carried 
forward  the  work  which  on  that  day  was  so 
gloriously  done.  Putnam  had  a  young  son, 
named  Daniel,  who  was  in  the  camp  with  him 
as  a  volunteer.  He  told  the  boy  to  go  to  Mrs. 
Tnman's,  that  night,  which  was  the  farm-house 

where   his   quarters    were;    and   if  it   should  be 
12* 


138  '  GEN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

necessary  to  leave  on  the  next  day,  to  depart 
with  the  rest  without  waiting  for  him.  The  boy 
mistrusted  that  some  great  danger  impended 
over  his  father,  and  begged  to  be  permitted  to  go 
along  with  him.  "  You  can  do  nothing  where  I 
am  going,  my  son,"  said  the  brave  father.  "  There 
will  be  plenty  who  will  take  care  of  me." 

It  was  very  soon  after  dark  that  Prescott  began 
his  march  from  Cambridge  over  the  narrow  neck 
formed  by  the  Charles  and  Mystic  rivers, —  a 
passage-way  which  was  only  about  a  hundred 
and  thirty  yards  across.  The  men  moved  on  in 
perfect  silence,  and  the  only  lights  they  had  to 
see  by  were  a  few  dark  lanterns,  which  threw  the 
light  backwards,  instead  of  forward.  Every 
possible  precaution  was  taken  against  discovery. 
Bunker  Hill  stands  nearest  the  neck,  and  is  a 
hundred  and  ten  feet  high.  Breed's  Hill  is  near 
the  southern  extremity  of  Charlestown  peninsula, 
and  only  sixty-two  feet  in  height.  The  distance 
between  these  two  hills,  on  their  summits,  is  one 
hundred  and  thirty  rods. 

The  troops  first  came  to  the  foot  of  Bunker 
Hill,  where  they  found  the  intrenching  tools  all 
ready  for  their  use,  having  been  already  sent 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  139 

over  in  wagons.  Until  that  moment,  in  fact, 
none  but  the  leaders  knew  for  what  purpose  the 
expedition  had  been  undertaken.  The  order  was 
to  fortify  Bunker  Hill ;  but  it  was  very  apparent 
that  it  would  be  of  little  use  to  do  that,  unless 
Breed's  Hill  were  fortified  also,  since  the  latter 
hill  most  immediately  commanded  the  town  of 
Boston.  The  leaders  consulted  what  it  was  best 
to  do.  Bunker  Hill  could  easily  be  reached  by 
the  guns  from  the  enemy's  ships  near  the  neck, 
and  could  not,  either,  effect  much  damage  to  them 
in  return.  It  was  at  length  resolved  to  disobey 
the  strict  letter  of  the  instructions,  and  to  fortify 
the  height  which  was  nearest  the  city.  Col. 
Gridley  undertook  the  engineering  part  of  the 
labor,  which  certainly  required  more  skill  than  all 
the  rest.  He  was  obliged  to  hasten  their  confer- 
ence several  times,  telling  them  that  the  night 
was  fast  slipping  away,  and  that  every  moment 
was  of  priceless  value. 

When  they  finally  reached  Breed's  Hill, — 
which  has,  ever  since  that  day,  taken  the  im- 
mortal name  of  Bunker  Hill, —  Col.  Gridley  laid 
out  his  plans,  ran  his  quick  eye  over  the  ground, 
and  set  the  men  to-  work  with  their  picks  and 


140  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

spades  with  all  their  energy.  It  was  already 
full  midnight  before  a  single  shovel-full  of  earth 
was  thrown  up.  Summer  time  as  it  was,  the 
nights  were  quite  short,  and  by  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning  it  would  be  day-break  again.  Hence 
there  were  but  four  short  hours  for  the  men  to  do 
their  work.  But  they  fell  to  with  wonderful 
alacrity  and  vigor,  stimulated  still  more  by 
the  examples  that  were  set  them  by  their  lead- 
ers. Prescott  knew  very  well  how  to  handle 
a  spade,  and  so  did  Putnam,  who  had  not  served 
for  seven  years  around  Lake  George  against  the 
French  and  Indians,  without  taking  such  an 
instrument  in  his  hands  very  frequently.  Never 
were  men  known  to  labor  more  eagerly  than 
did  these  men.  They  were  working  for  their 
very  lives,  and  that  they  knew.  They  had  taken 
only  rations  enough  with  them  to  last  for  one 
day,  and  hence  they  felt  obliged  to  throw  up 
protection  against  the  assaults  of  the  enemy  in 
Boston,  which  would  furnish  them  with  the  sur- 
est reliance. 

The  redoubt  was  constructed  upon  the  top 
of  the  hill,  and  was  eight  rods  square.  Its  south- 
ern side  fronted  the  village  of  Charlestown,  and 


BATTLE   OP   BUNKER   HILL.  141 

was  most  strongly  fortified,  because  that  quarter 
was  thought  to  be  most  liable  to  the  enemy's 
attack.  Eastward  it  fronted  an  open  field, 
which  extended  down  to  Morton's  Point.  A 
breastwork  was  thrown  up,  as  if  it  were  a  con- 
tinuation of  this  eastern  side  of  the  redoubt, 
but  still  separated  from  it  by  a  narrow  pas- 
sage, which  was  screened  by  what  was  termed 
a  "blind"  in  front.  Another  passage,  or  gate- 
way, likewise  opened  from  the  rear  wall  of  the 
redoubt,  conducting  down  the  hill. 

The  officers  several  times  during  the  night 
stole  softly  down  to  the  water's  edge,  to  dis- 
cover if  the  enemy  had  been  alarmed  by  their 
operations  on  the  hill ;  they  could  hear  the  cry 
—  "  All 's  well ! "  passed  from  one  ship  to  another 
by  the  sentries,  over  the  still  surface  of  the  water. 
Finding  matters  going  on  so  well,  Gen.  Putnam 
hurried  back  during  the  night  to  Cambridge,  to 
make  the  needful  preparations  for  the  struggle 
which  he  too  well  knew  must  come  on  the  next 
day. 

Morning  dawned  slowly,  finding  the  men  still 
engaged  about  their  work  on  the  hill.  It  was 
a  still  day,  in  the  very  flush  and  pride  of  the 


142  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

new  summer.  The  British  looked  upon  the 
heights,  and  were  filled  with  amazement.  In 
one  brief  night  a  work  had  been  done,  —  and 
done  so  silently,  too,  that  no  soul  of  them  all 
had  caught  a  sound  of  what  was  going  on, — 
which  compelled  the  British  army  either  to  eva- 
cuate Boston,  or  to  sally  out  and  offer  immediate 
battle.  They  had  not  given  the  raw  American 
militia  credit  for  so  much  energy  and  alacrity. 
Their  own  plans  were  by  this  single  act  com- 
pletely frustrated.  The  British  officers  held  a 
council  of  war  at  once,  and  determined  to  send 
a  body  of  regular  troops  over  to  the  hill  with 
all  possible  despatch,  to  dispossess  the  defiant 
Americans.  And  while  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments to  this  end  were  being  carried  forward, 
a  brisk  cannonading  was  opened  and  kept  up 
from  the  vessels  of  war,  and  from  Copp's  Hill, 
upon  the  workers  on  the  height. 

Putnam's  spirit  took  fire  with  the  first  sound 
of  the  hostile  cannon  in  the  morning.  He 
mounted  his  horse  forthwith,  and  rode  over 
the  neck  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  Prescott 
was  still  there  in  the  redoubt,  working  hard 
himself,  and  cheering  and  inspiring  the  men 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  143 

both  by  his  words  and  example.  They  could 
distinctly  see  the  streets  of  Boston  from  the 
height,  and  descry  the  British  troops  forming 
and  marching,  and  making  ready  for  the  con- 
flict which  they  now  knew  was  at  hand.  The 
American  soldiers  were  pretty  thoroughly  wear- 
ied with  their  severe  and  uninterrupted  night's 
work,  and  some  of  the  officers  proposed  to  send 
to  Cambridge  for  reinforcements.  "  No,"  an- 
swered Prescott,  with  promptness ;  "  they  have 
thrown  up  the  works  themselves,  and  it  is  but 
fair  to  give  them  a  chance  to  defend  them." 
Such  talk  of  course  infused  a  new  ardor  and 
courage  into  their  ranks.  A  messenger  was. 
however,  sent  over  to  Cambridge  for  refresh- 
ments. 

As  soon  as  Putnam  saw  what  was  certain 
to  come,  he  again  posted  off  to  Cambridge,  ask- 
ing Major  General  Ward  for  reinforcements, 
against  the  hour  of  need ;  but,  the  latter  refused 

to  forward  any,  not  yet  satisfied  that  it  was  not 
the  design  of  the  British  to  land  at  Lechmere's 
Point,  assail  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  and  so 
cut  off  the  body  of  Americans  in  Charlestown 
altogether.  He  had  substantial  reasons  for  be- 


144  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

lieving  this  to  be  their  leading  design.  Hence 
he  refused  to  send  Putnam's  Connecticut  regi- 
ment up  to  the  hill  at  all.  Putnam  therefore 
had  his  attention  divided  between  Bunker  Hill 
and  his  own  post  at  Inman's  Farm,  which  it 
was  equally  necessary  for  him  to  maintain. 

Not  until  he  was  finally  convinced  of  the  in- 
tention of  the  enemy  to  attack  Charlestown 
heights,  did  he  concentrate  all  his  energies  on 
what  was  there  going  forward.  He  took  a  hand- 
ful of  men,  and  tried  to  throw  up  intrenchments 
on  Bunker  Hill,  where  they  had  paused  to  decide 
which  hill  should  be  fortified,  the  night  before. 
Could  this  have  been  done,  they  could  have  com- 
manded Breed's  Hill,  even  after  the  latter  had 
been  taken  by  the  enemy.  But  the  action  came 
on  so  soon  that  they  were  obliged  to  give  over 
their  design,  and  hasten  on  to  tHfc  help  of  their 
friends  at  the  redoubt  on  Breed's  Hill. 

Between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  with  a  burn- 
ing sun  high  in  the  heavens,  a  force  of  nearly 
three  thousand  of  the  best  men  of  the  British 
army  began  to  land  at  Morton's  Point,  in  twenty- 
eight  barges,  all  under  command  of  Gen.  Howe. 
They  halted  as  tln-y  C-MIIIC  to  the  shore,  wait- 


, 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  145 

ing  to  rest  and  refresh  themselves,  and  to  be 
strengthened  by  the  detachments  as  fast  as  they 
could  be  brought  over.  Their  rich  uniforms  and 
•well-kept  arms  glittered  and  flashed  in  the  bright 
sunlight,  and  created  a  most  imposing  appear- 
ance. It  was  soon  reported  in  Cambridge  that 
the  British  had  begun  to  land,  and  the  excite- 
ment was  truly  intense.  The  drums  beat,  the 
bells  were  tolled,  and  the  soldiers  were  instantly 
hurrying  in  every  direction.  It  was  nearly  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  —  and  Saturday,  too,  — 
when  the  reinforcements  all  arrived,  making  the 
British  army  about  four  thousand  strong.  They 
were  all  regular  and  tried  troops,  that  had  seen 
service  before ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Americans 
were  but  raw  recruits,  and  looked  on  with  feel- 
ings of  doubt  as  to  the  result,  though  with  noth- 
ing like  fear.  The  latter,  too,  were  nearly  ex- 
hausted with  hunger  and  thirst ;  and  what  was 
worse,  they  began  to  entertain  a  half  suspicion 
that  they  had  been  placed  in  their  present  posi- 
tion in  order  to  be  sacrificed. 

Putnam  took  the  general  command  outside  of 
the  redoubt,  overseeing  the  arrangements  of  the 

men,    and    taking  due   advantage  of   all  favora- 
13 


146  GEX.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

!)!<•  circumstances.     "Warren,  who  was  President 
of  the  Provincial  Congress,  heard  of  the  landing 
of  the  British,  while  he  was  in  Watertown  ;  and 
sick  as  he  was,  hnrried  off  to  take  a  part  in  the 
battle.      Brave  old  Col.  Pomeroy,  too,  the  mo- 
ment he  caught  the  echoes  of  the  cannonading 
from    the    vessels  of  war,  in   the  forenoon,  bor- 
rowed a  horse  of  General  Ward  and  rode  down 
to  the    neck  ;    and   seeing  the   galling  fire   with 
which    it  was    raked    from    the   vessels,    he   dis- 
mounted and  deliberately  walked  the  whole  dis- 
tance through   the  whizzing  balls,  unwilling  to 
risk  the  value  of  the  borrowed  animal,  but  car- 
ing  nothing   for   his    own   life.      Warren   went 
on  the    hill,   and    offered    himself  to    Gen.    Put- 
nam  as  a  common   soldier.      The   General   ex- 
postulated with  him,  begging  him  to  take  him- 
self   away   again,   for    his   services   were    more 
needed   in  another   place.     But   Warren    would 
hear    nothing  to   it.     Neither  would  he  consent 
to   assume    anything   like   command.     He   went 
into  the  redoubt  where  Prescott  was,  and  shoul- 
dered   his    musket   with    the    common    soldiers. 
Prescott  offered  to   transfer  all   authority  to  his 
hands,  but  the    latter  would    not   consent.      He 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  147 

went  to  do  simply  a  soldier's  duty  on  that  im- 
portant day. 

The  British  army  began  to  advance  with  great 
regularity  and  order.  Previous  to  this,  Gen. 
Howe  had  ordered  his  artillery  to  play  against 
the  American  lines,  and,  by  a  signal  already 
agreed  upon,  caused  a  hot  fire  to  be  directed 
against  the  redoubt  from  the  guns  on  Copp's 
Hill  and  the  vessels  in  the  river.  The  Ameri- 
can guns  —  which  numbered  but  two  —  an- 
swered very  feebly  to  those  of  the  enemy ;  and 
Callender  was  withdrawing  altogether  to  the 
cover  of  the  hill  with  them,  because,  as  he  said, 
his  cartridges  were  too  large.  Putnam  rode  up 
to  him  and  ordered  him  back  on  the  ground, 
threatening  otherwise  to  blow  out  his  brains  on 
the  spot.  He  and  his  men  returned,  but  they 
mingled  with  the  infantry,  feeling  confident  that 
they  could  not  manage  their  guns  to  any  effec- 
tive purpose. 

Howe  divided  his  assaulting  force  into  two 
parts ;  the  one  commanded  by  himself  directed 
its  attack  against  the  rail-fence,  which  was  a 
hastily  constructed  defence,  made  of  new-mown 
hay  stuffed  in  between  two  parallel  fences,  and 


148  t-iilN.    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 


running  down  from  a  point  below  the  breast- 
works, and  in  their  rear,  to  near  the  slough 
which  bordered  Mystic  river;  —  the  other  wing, 
under  Gen.  Pigot,  was  to  attack  the  redoubt. 
Howe's  artillery  did  not  serve  him  much,  on 
account  of  the  supply  of  balls  being  too  large 
for  the  pieces,  and  also  of  the  boggy  and  miry 
character  of  the  ground.  So  the  men  were 
obliged  to  rely  upon  the  arms  they  bore  in  their 
hands. 

Not  a  word  was  spoken,  apparently,  as  the 
splendid  army  of  Great  Britain  slowly  toiled 
up  the  hill  in  the  hot  sun.  The  Americans  kept 
out  of  sight,  and  waited  almost  impatiently  for 
the  enemy's  approach.  There  were  now  fifteen 
hundred  brave  hearts  within  those  entrench- 
ments, eager  to  engage  with  the  foe.  Putnam 
told  the  men,  as  lie  passed  hastily  along  the 
lines,  dusty  and  perspiring,  not  to  waste  their 
fire,  for  powder  was  very  scarce.  "Wait,"  said 
he,  "  till  you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes,  and 
then  take  aim  at  their  waistbands!  Fire  low, 
—  and  pick  oil'  the  commanders,  with  the  hand- 
some coats."  Prescoit  gave  the  same  order>  to 
those  wilhin  the  redoubt.  So  did  the  oilier 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL,  149 

officers  all  along  the  lines,  behind  the  breast- 
works and  the  rail-fence. 

The  moment  the  front  ranks  of  the  enemy 
came  near  enough,  the  word  was  given  to  fire. 
The  execution  was  beyond  description.  Not  a 
single  shot  seemed  to  have  been  wasted.  The 
British  fell  down  in  solid  ranks,  like  grass  be- 
fore the  scythe  of  the  mower.  Another  volley 
followed  from  behind  the  intrenchments  ;  and 
then  another  ;  each  doing  as  terrible  work  as 
the  first ;  and  instantly  the  whole  body  of  the 
British  were  struck  with  terror,  and  broke  and 
ran  like  sheep  down  the  hill.  Some  of  the  Am- 
ericans were  so  overjoyed  to  behold  the  result, 
that  they  leaped  over  the  rail  fence,  and  would 
have  pursued  them  down  to  the  water's  edge  ; 
but  they  were  prudently  held  in  check  by  their 
officers. 

It  was  not  long  before  Gen.  Howe  succeeded 
in  rallying  his  defeated  troops  once  more,  and 
bringing  them  up  to  the  attack  as  before.  The 
Americans  made  ready  for  them  as  rapidly  as 
they  could.  Putnam  had  ridden  in  hot  haste 
across  to  Bunker  Hill,  and  tried  in  vain  to  bring 
back  the  additional  troops,  —  fragments  of  regi- 
13* 


150  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

nients,  —  posted  there,  so  that  they  might  take 
part  in  the  battle.  When  the  British  came  up 
to  the  attack  the  second  time,  there  were  no 
more  Americans  in  the  engagement  than  before. 
Four  hundred  men  had,  however,  arrived  in 
the  meanwhile  from  Boston,  under  command 
of  Major  Small,  the  old  friend  of  Putnam. 
Gen.  Howe  led  the  way  this  time,  telling  his 
men  they  need  not  go  a  foot  further  than  he 
was  willing  to  go  himself.  This  time  they 
played  their  artillery  with  considerable  effect. 
They  were  obliged  to  march  over  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  companions,  which  lay  in  rows 
all  around  them  on  the  hillside.  Just  at  this 
moment,  too,  dense  clouds  of  smoke  began  to 
roll  up  from  the  burning  village  of  Charlestown 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  which  had  been  wantonly 
set  on  fire  by  hot  shot  thrown  from  the  British 
battery  on  Copp's  Hill.  The  expectation  on  the 
part  of  the  enemy  was,  that  the  smoke  would 
roll  in  between  them  and  the  Americans,  so  as 
to  allow  them  an  opportunity  to  gain  their  rear 
unperceived,  and  likewise  lo  reach  the  brea>i- 
works,  which  they  were  then  resolved  to  scale. 
Fortunately,  however,  a  light  breexe  lifted  tiie 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER  HILL.  151 

smoke  columns  in  its  airy  hands,  and  drifted 
them  in  a  body  out  towards  the  sea.  Thus 
the  movements  of  the  British  were  as  apparent 
as  they  were  before.  The  Americans  behind 
their  intrenchments  waited  until  they  came  with- 
in the  prescribed  distance,  and  then  poured  in 
a  volley  that  did  even  more  murderous  work 
than  they  had  done  before. 

Whole  ranks,  of  officers  and  men  alike,  were 
swept  down  before  this  resistless  fire.  Gen. 
Howe  found  himself  at  one  time  standing  al- 
most entirely  alone.  The  troops  were  filled  with 
direst  confusion.  It  was  more  than  their  officers 
could  do,  to  hold  them  together.  The  broken 
ranks  could  not  be  closed  up  and  made  whole 
with  the  help  of  any  exertions.  No  threats  had 
the  least  effect  upon  the  panic-stricken  regulars. 
Alarmed,  and  dispirited,  and  overwhelmed  with 
double  confusion,  they  turned  their  backs  in 
a  body  and  ran  off  down  the  hill,  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Provincials'  deadly  musketry.  Gen. 
Clinton,  the  British  commander,  saw  the  rout 
that  had  been  created  by  the  stubborn  Provin- 
cial militia,  and  felt  mortified  and  chagrined ; 
so  much  so  that  he  hastily  threw  himself  into 


152  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

a  boat,  and,  some  five  hundred  more  following, 
crossed  over  with  the  reckless  resolution  of  ser- 
ving as  a  volunteer.  A  part  of  the  British 
officers  protested  against  marching  up  the  hill 
again,  to  meet  with  certain  destruction  ;  but 
Howe  had  by  this  time  found  out  where  the 
weakest  point  in  the  works  lay,  —  between  the 
breastworks  and  the  rail-fence,  —  and  deter- 
mined to  make  one  final  effort  to  carry  it.  It  is 
also  related  that  some  careless  soldier  within 
the  redoubt  was  overheard  to  say  something 
about  the  scarcity  of  the  ammunition ;  and  this 
fact,  when  reported  to  the  officers,  gave  a  little 
more  encouragement  to  the  enemy. 

Gen.  Howe,  therefore,  led  the  third  attack 
against  the  American  left,  especially  against 
the  point  on  the  slope  between  the  breast- 
works and  the  rail-fence.  Gen.  Pigot,  aided 
by  Gen.  Clinton,  marched  up  to  attack  the  re- 
doubt, aiming  also  to  turn  the  American  right. 
The  orders  to  the  British  soldiers  were  to  take 
the  fire  of  the  Americans,  and  then  to  charge 
bayonets  and  scale  the  works.  This  is  what  they 
should  have  done  in  the  first  place ;  and  what 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  153 

they  would   have   done,    had   they  known   how 
short  the  Americans  were  for  ammunition. 

While  the  British  were  getting  ready  to  come 
up  to  the  third  assault,  the  Americans  had  time 
to  refresh  themselves,  and  in  some  degree  to 
recover  from  the  protracted  fatigue  of  the  night 
and  day.  They  also  began  to  hope,  from  the 
long  interval  that  elapsed  between  the  second 
and  third  attacks,  that  the  enemy  were  finally 
defeated,  and  would  not  venture  to  come  up 
again.  Well  might  they  have  hoped  it  was 
so,  for  they  knew  too  well  how  low  their  am- 
munition had  begun  to  run  ;  and  as  for  their 
muskets,  there  were  very  few  bayonets  to  them 
all.  Therefore,  in  this  brief  interval,  they  cast 
about  to  know  what  they  should  do  if  the 
emergency  really  came.  Some  prepared  to  club 
their  muskets,  after  having  first  discharged  them 
at  the  enemy.  Some  collected  stones  and  other 
missiles,  to  hurl  at  them  in  the  last  necessity. 
They  thought  of  everything,  in  fact,  but  fear. 

Meantime  Major  General  Ward  sent  over 
three  regiments  to  the  field,  hoping  to  help  the 
troops  to  hold  the  hill.  One  detachment  of 
about  three  hundred  did  pass  over  the  neck  ; 


154  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

but  the  fire  from  the  vessels'  guns  that  swept  the 
entire  passage  was  so  severe,  that  the  men  hesi- 
tated when  they  reached  the  spot  and  saw  the 
almost  entire  hopelessness  of  making  the  at- 
tempt. Putnam  first  ordered  these  three  hun- 
dred to  fall  to  work  intrenching  Bunker  Hill, 
but  afterwards  ordered  them  forward  to  the  lines. 
He  was  working  like  a  hero  all  the  while,  rid- 
ing to  and  fro  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  to  get 
the  scattered  forces  on  Bunker  Hill  into  mar- 
tial order,  and  to  lead  them  on  to  the  defence 
of  Breed's  Hill.  He  also  rode  down  to  the 
neck,  and  shouted  to  the  recruits  on  the  other 
side  to  come  over,  and  lend  the  aid  of  their 
bayonets.  He  then  dashed  across  the  exposed 
passage,  through  the  rain  of  the  balls  from  the 
enemy's  cannon,  in  order  to  show  them  that 
they  had  nothing  to  fear.  But  it  was  to  no 
purpose. 

On  came  the  British,  at  length,  for  the  third 
time.  The  Americans  stood  firm  and  resolute 
in  their  lines,  prepared  to  receive  them.  The 
British  artillery  soon  turned  the  breastworks, 
however,  sweeping  the  whole  line  of  their  in- 
terior. The  Americans  were  of  course  thus  driven 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER  HILL.  155 

within  the  redoubt,  the  breastwork  being  aban- 
doned. But  they  had  taken  sure  aim  before  they 
left,  and  brought  down  many  a  proud  British 
officer.  General  Howe  himself  was  wounded  in 
the  foot  There  was  but  one  round  a-piece  to 
the  Provincials  now,  and  when  they  had  ex- 
pended their  first  fire  they  knew  they  must  make 
a  hand-to-hand  fight  of  it.  Hence  they  fired  with 
just  as  great  precision  as  before,  every  shot  bring- 
ing down  its  man. 

Then  it  was  that  they  were  put  to  their  true 
mettle.  From  that  moment  it  was  every  man  for 
himself.  The  British  came  jumping  over  the 
walls  of  earth,  with  fixed  bayonets.  They  were 
received  with  showers  of  stones  in  their  faces, 
with  muskets  used  like  clubs  over  their  heads, 
and  with  resistance  in  every  possible  style.  The 
fight  was  man  against  man.  Every  inch  of 
ground  was  stoutly  contested.  The  redoubt 
was  already  fast  filling  up  with  the  enemy,  and 
the  Americans  saw  that  nothing  was  left  them 
but  to  retreat  Major  Pitcairn,  —  the  same 
who  opened  the  revolution  on  Lexington  Green 
in  April,  —  was  one  of  the  first  to  mount  the 
walls  of  the  redoubt,  and  he  was  instantly  shot 


156  Oi:\.  ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

by  a  negro  soldier,  while  shouting  to  his  rein- 
forcement of  marines  behind  him,  — "  Now  for 
the  glory  of  the  marines ! "  Prescott  ordered  a 
retreat,  feeling  certain  that  they  could  main- 
tain their  position  no  longer.  This  was  car- 
ried out  in  perfect  order,  the  men  keeping  their 
faces  to  the  foe,  and  resisting  stoutly  for  every 
foot  they  were  obliged  to  yield.  Prescott  and 
Warren  were  the  last  to  leave  the  redoubt. 
The  butts  of  the  American  muskets  cracked 
loud  over  the  heads  of  the  British  soldiers,  and 
were  in  many  cases  shivered  into  fragments. 
There  was  a  glistening  of  steel  in  the  sun,  and 
a  clash  and  ring  of  bayonets  and  musketry. 
There  were  shoutings  and  curses,  and  an  in- 
describable confusion  of  sounds  and  voices.  The 
faces  of  many  of  the  militia  were  smutted 
and  blackened  with  powder,  so  that  they  were 
scarcely  known  to  their  companions  and  friends. 
Col.  Gridley,  who  planned  the  works,  was  wound- 
ed and  carried  off  the  hill.  Prescott  received 
several  bayonet  thrusts,  but  fortunately  was  not 
wounded.  Warren  retreated  even  after  the  lat- 
ter did,  and  was  shot  through  the  head  by  a 
musket  ball,  dropping  dead  in  his  tracks.  There 


BATTLE   OF   BUNKER   HILL.  l-'T 

he  lay  until  he  was  recognized  the  next  morn- 
ing by  Dr.  Jeffries,  a  British  surgeon,  and  an 
intimate  friend  ;  when  he  was  taken  up  and 
buried  on  the  spot  where  he  fell.  He  was 
mourned  by  the  whole  army  and  province.  Gen. 
Putnam  felt  his  loss  as  keenly  as  any  one  could ; 
he  compared  his  fate  with  that  which  a  few 
years  before  overtook  young  Lord  Howe  at 
his  side,  while  marching  against  the  French  at 
Ticonderoga. 

Parts  of  regiments  at  this  juncture  came  pour- 
ing down  from  Bunker  Hill,  and  did  effective 
service  in  covering  the  American  retreat.  At 
the  rail-fence,  which  was  manned  by  Putnam's 
Connecticut  troops,  with  others,  a  successful 
effort  was  made  for  a  short  time  to  prevent 
the  British  from  turning  their  flank,  and  so 
the  latter  were  kept  in  check  until  the  main 
body  could  safely  make  their  way  out  of  the 
redoubt ;  but  for  this  resolute  stand,  the  retreat- 
ing militia  must  have  been  cut  off  entirely.  But 
as  soon  as  they  saw  that  the  rest  of  their  com- 
rades had  taken  to  flight,  they  left  their  posi- 
tion with  all  possible  despatch.  Putnam  tried 
every  method  to  induce  them  to  stand  firm, 
14 


158  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM 

flying  into  a  towering  passion,  and  using  lan- 
guage that  was  for  a  long  time  afterwards  re- 
membered for  its  profanity.  The  old  man  could 
nbt  bear  the  thought  of  their  deserting  their 
ground,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  not  wholly 
aware  at  the  time  how  low  they  had  run  for 
powder.  "  Make  a  stand  here  ! "  he  shouted. 
"  We  can  stop  them  yet !  In  God's  name,  fire ! 
and  give  them  one  shot  more ! "  Pomeroy,  too, 
with  his  shattered  musket  in  his  hand,  tried  to 
rally  them  for  one  more  effort ;  but  it  was  in 
vain. 

Putnam  covered  their  retreat  in  person,  and 
was  not  more  than  twelve  rods  distant  from  the 
enemy,  and  fully  exposed  to  their  fire.  He 
came  to  one  of  the  field-pieces  that  had  been 
deserted,  which  he  roundly  swore  should  not 
be  given  up  to  the  enemy.  Only  one  man 
could  be  found  to  remain  there  with  him ;  and 
he  was  in  another  moment  shot  down  at  his 
side,  and  the  rapid  advance  of  the  British  with 
fixed  bayonets  drove  him  from  the  cannon  also. 
Colonel  Trumbull,  the  painter  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, has  represented  Putnam,  in  his  great  bat- 
tle piece  at  the  national  Capital,  in  the  act  of 


_",-- 


OLD    PUT   Rir>l.\<;    ACIiOSS    TIIM   M:<  i; 


BATTLE    OF   BUNKER   HILL.  159 

defending  this  field-piece  and  covering  the  re- 
treating militia.  The  painter  has  attired  him 
in  a  splendid  blue  and  scarlet  uniform ;  where- 
as his  dress  on  that  day  was  strikingly  differ- 
ent from  that,  and  more  truly  befitted  the  char- 
acter of  the  man  and  the  nature  of  the  work 
he  was  engaged  in.  An  old  soldier,  who  was 
in  the  fight  of  that  day,  has  told  us  exactly  how 
the  General  was  clad,  and  how  he  looked.  He 
says  that  he  rode  about  the  hill,  and  across  the 
neck  between  Charlestown  and  Cambridge,  in 
order  to  report  to  Gen.  Ward,  —  "  without  any 
coat,  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  and  with  an  old  felt 
hat  on  his  head."  This  was  certainly  more  a 
dress  for  useful,  than  for  ornamental  purposes, 
and  would  not  be  likely  to  encumber  or  em- 
barrass any  one  who  had  hard  and  hasty  work 
to  do. 

The  Americans  retreated  in  good  order  down 
the  hill  and  across  the  neqk,  compelled,  however, 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  galling  fire  from  the 
British  vessels.  Many  of  them  were  killed,  as 
was  to  be  expected.  They  next  took  up  their 
position  on  Prospect  and  Winter  Hills,  about 
a  mile  distant,  which  they  proceeded  at  once  to 


160  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

fortify.  Here  they  lay  all  night  The  British 
occupied  the  ground  they  had  so  dearly  gained, 
and  remained  there  in  quiet  until  morning.  Had 
they  pursued  their  advantage,  and  pushed  on 
upon  Cambridge,  it  would  have  proved  a  great 
day's  work  for  them,  after  all.  Many  won- 
dered at  the  time  why  they  did  not.  But  when 
the  report  of  their  losses  on  that  day  came  to 
be  given,  there  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
best  reason  in  the  world  for  the  neglect.  Out 
of  between  four  and  five  thousand  troops  that 
were  sent  over  from  Boston,  their  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  amounted  to  fifteen  hundred.  It 
was  too  terrible  a  slaughter  for  them  to  recover 
from,  in  so  short  a  time.  Clinton,  however,  was 
for  pushing  on ;  Howe  was  more  timid,  and  ad- 
vised that  the  troops  remain  and  rest  where  they 
were. 

This  day's  work  was  proof  enough  that  the 
Americans  could  bo  141  y  resist  oppression  and 
tyranny.  They  had  seen  the  fire  and  smoke, 
and  heard  the  yells  and  groans  of  battle.  On 
that  Saturday  afternoon,  in  an  engagement 
which  lasted  about  two  hours  in  all,  they  lost, 
counting  the  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  four 


BATTLE   OP   BUNKER  HILL.  161 

hundred  and  fifty  men.  This  was  in  no  sense 
a  victory  on  the  part  of  the  British.  They  may 
have  gained  the  field,  because  the  ammunition 
of  the  Americans  gave  out  too  soon ;  but  they 
certainly  lost  the  battle.  Besides  this,  they 
learned  a  lesson  which  they  refused  to  read 
before,  that  the  people  of  America  would  fight 
to  the  last  drop  of  blood  for  their  rights,  their 
soil,  and  their  firesides. 
14* 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SIEGE   OP  BOSTON. 

THERE  was   no  retreat  for   the   Colonists 
after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.     The  Rubi- 
con had  been  crossed.     They  had  taken  the 
sword,  and  made  their  appeal  to  the   God  of 
battles ;  and  by  the  sword,  under  the  directing 
care  of  a  kind  Providence,  must  they  only  hope 
to  stand  or  fall. 

There  was  no  formal  compact,  or  union,  as  yet 
between  the  several  Colonies  ;  yet  they  were  even 
then  conferring  together,  through  their  delegates 
in  Philadelphia,  as  to  the  best  method  of  making 
effective  resistance  to  the  tyrannical  demands  of 
England.  This  Congress  possessed  no  particular 
power  to  pass  any  acts  which  should  bind  the 
Colonies,  but  was  convened  more  for  the  purpose 
of  conferring  upon  the  wisest  plans  for  them  to 
adopt.  Massachusetts)  had  proposed  a  federal 


SIEGE   OF  BOSTON.  163 

union,  and  likewise  offered  to  subscribe  to  any 
plan  of  the  kind  which  should  be  brought  forward 
and  established.  The  delegates  from  the  other 
New  England  Colonies  agreed  to  the  same  thing. 
Congress  therefore  -acted  with  promptness,  as 
it  should  have  done,  if  at  all.  It  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  and  officer  a  regular  army,  and 
placed  Washington  at  its  head.  There  were  four 
Major  Generals  appointed  under  him, —  Lee, 
Ward,  Schuyler,  and  Putnam.  General  Wash- 
ington came  on  to  Cambridge,  and  assumed 
his  high  office  on  the  2nd  day  of  July.  He  also 
gave  Putnam  the  commission  which  he  brought 
on  from  Congress,  without  any  delay.  From 
others  he  withheld  their  commissions  for  a  time. 
Some  of  the  Brigadier  Generals  felt  aggrieved  that 
they  had  been  superseded  by  men  who  ranked 
lower  in  the  armies  of  the  separate  colonies,  and 
left  the  army  in  consequence.  Jealousies  and 
heart-burnings  like  these  called  for  the  exercise 
of  the  highest  degree  of  patience  and  tact  on  the 
part  of  the  Co mmander-in- Chief ;  and  it  was  for- 
tunate for  our  liberties  that  the  country  at  that 
time  had  a  man  like  George  Washington  to  place 
in  supreme  command.  It  is  sufficient  to  add  that 


164  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTWAM. 

these  officers  returned  to  the  army  again,  consent- 
ing to  overlook  what  had  at  first  given  them  such 
deep  dissatisfaction. 

The  British  immediately  began  to  fortify 
Charlestown,  and  carried  'out  the  plans  of  Put- 
nam himself  upon  Bunker  Hill.  They  likewise 
strengthened  their  defences  in  Boston  to  the  full- 
est capacity.  Washington,  upon  taking  com- 
mand, formed  the  army  into  three  divisions: 
Major- General  Lee  commanded  the  left  wing, 
reaching  to  the  Mystic  river,  —  Major- General 
Ward  commanded  the  right  wing,  stationed  at 
Dorchester  and  Roxbury, —  and  Major-General 
Putnam  commanded  the  advance  of  the  centre, 
while  the  Commander-in-Chief  himself  made  his 
head  quarters  at  Cambridge.  Putnam  saw  Wash- 
ington for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  when  he  arrived 
at  Cambridge,  and  the  acquaintance  thus  formed 
ripened  into  a  friendship  and  intimacy,  which 
lasted  through  the  whole  of  Putnam's  remaining 
days. 

It  is  reported  that  a  flag  of  truce  arrived  at  the 
American  lines,  about  this  time,  which  had  come 
from  Major  Small,  the  old  friend  of  Putnam.  Small 
wished  to  see  Putnam  on  urgent  business.  The 


SIEGE   OF   BOSTON.  165 

latter  consulted  with  Washington  as  to  the  expedi- 
ency of  meeting  him  as  requested;  but  Washington 
advised  the  step,  and  Putnam  accordingly  went 
over.  Major  Small  only  wished  to  make  a  proposal 
to  his  former  companion  in  arms,  on  behalf  of  the 
British  commander.  It  was  that  Putnam  should 
desert  the  Continental  Army,  throw  his  influence 
on  the  side  of  the  King,  and  receive  therefor  —  as 
offered  to  him  once  before,  —  high  rank,  a  liberal 
compensation  in  money,  and  bountiful  provision 
for  his  sons.  Putnam  treated  the  proposal  as  he 
had  treated  it  once  before,  —  with  indignation  and 
scorn.  The  story  goes,  that  Putnam  confided  the 
proposal  to  no  one  but  Washington,  and  that  it 
remained  a  secret  for  several  years. 

The  Americans  exerted  themselves  without 
cessation  to  hedge  the  British  in ;  and  for  this  pur- 
pose they  erected  defences  and  fortifications  at 
every  point,  in  a  wide  circuit  of  a  dozen  miles 
around  Boston,  —  from  Dorchester  Heights  to 
Charlestown,  —  where  the  enemy  would  be  likely 
to  make  an  attempt  to  pass  through.  Thus  they 
were  completely  blockaded,  except  to  the  seaward. 
Winter  Hill,  Prospect  Hill,  and  Ploughed  Hill 
were  fortified,  to  prevent  them  from  making  their 


1G6  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

way  up  the  Mystic  River.  Putnam  exerted  him- 
self greatly  to  fortify  the  latter  hill,  since  it  most 
immediately  checked  any  advantage  they  might 
attempt  to  take  from  their  position  on  Bunker 
Hill.  He  never  refused  to  work  with  his  own 
hands,  entering  into  the  labor  required  with  all 
his  native  impetuosity  and  ardor. 

Congress  put  forth  a  solemn  Declaration  of 
War,  on  the  6th  of  July.  It  was,  at  the  time, 
quite  doubtful  how  it  would  be  received  by  the 
army  which  Washington  was  so  actively  engaged 
in  organizing ;  and  it  was  feared,  if  they  should 
refuse  to  adopt  it  as  an  expression  of  their  own 
sentiments,  that  they  would  break  up  and  return 
in  time  to  their  homes.  They  had  enlisted  for  no 
definite  period,  but  had  come  forward  as  volun- 
teers to  repel  the  assaults  of  the  British  on  Boston. 
The  Declaration  was  read  at  head-quarters,  at 
Cambridge,  by  the  President  of  Harvard  College, 
on  the  15th  of  July.  On  the  18th,  it  was  read 
to  the  division  under  command  of  General  Put- 
nam, on  Prospect  Hill;  after  which  the  soldiers 
shouted  "  Amen  "  three  times,  a  cannon  was 
fired,  cheers  were  given  by  the  troops,  and  the 
Hag  of  Connecticut  was  thrown  to  the  breeze, 


SIEGE   OF   BOSTON.  167 

bearing  on  one  side  the  motto,  "  An  Appeal  to 
Heaven"  and  on  the  other,  "  Qui  transtulit,  sus- 
tinet"  The  Essex  Gazette,  in  narrating  the 
event,  said,  — "  The  Philistines  on  Bunker  Hill 
heard  the  shouts  of  the  Israelites,  and,  being  very 
fearful,  paraded  themselves  in  battle  array."  For 
some  time  after,  frequent  skirmishes  occurred 
between  the  two  hostile  armies,  which  tended  to 
make  the  raw  American  soldiers  alert  and  mindful 
of  discipline. 

A  description  of  the  American  camp  in  those 
days,  from  the  "pen  of  an  army  chaplain,  is  very 
interesting  at  this  time:  —  "  The  generals  are  upon 
the  lines  every  day.  New  orders  from  his  excel- 
lency are  read  to  the  respective  regiments,  every 
morning  after  prayers.  The  strictest  government 
is  taking  place,  and  great  distinction  is  made  be- 
tween officers  and  soldiers.  Every  one  is  made 
to  know  his  place,  and  keep  in  it,  or  to  be  tied  up 
and  receive  thirty  or  forty  lashes,  according  to  his 
crime.  Thousands  are  at  work  every  day,  from 
four  till  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  is  sur- 
prising how  much  work  has  been  done. 
Who  would  have  thought,  twelve  months  past, 
that  all  Cambridge  and  Charlestown  would  be 


168  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

covered  over  with  American  camps,  and  cut  up 
into  forts,  and  intrenchments,  and  all  the  lands, 
fields  and  orchards  laid  common  ;  horses  and  cat- 
tle feeding  in  the  choicest  mowing  land,  whole 
fields  of  corn  eaten  down  to  the  ground,  and  large 
parks  of  well  regulated  locusts  cut  down  for  fire- 
wood and  other  public  uses  ?  This,  I  must  say, 
looks  a  little  melancholy.  My  quarters  are  at  the 
foot  of  the  famous  Prospect  Hill,  where  such 
preparations  are  made  for  the  reception  of  the 
enemy.  It  is  very  diverting  to  walk  among  the 
camps.  They  are  as  different  in  their  forms  as 
the  owners  are  in  their  dress,  and  every  tent  is  a 
portraiture  of  the  temper  and  taste  of  the  persons 
who  encamp  in  it.  Some  are  made  of  boards, 
and  some  of  sail-cloth ;  some  partly  of  one  and 
partly  of  the  other.  Again  others  are  made  of 
stone  or  turf,  brick  or  brush.  Some  are  thrown 
up  in  a  hurry ;  others  are  curiously  wrought  with 
doors  and  windows,  done  with  wreaths  and  withes, 
in  the  manner  of  a  basket  Some  are  your  proper 
tents  or  marquees,  looking  like  the  regular  camp  of 
the  enemy.  In  these  are  the  Rhode  Islanders, 
who  are  furnished  with  tent  equipage  and  every- 
thing in  the  most  exact  English  style.  However, 


SIEGE  OF  BOSTON.  169 

I  think  this  great  variety  rather  a  beauty  than  a 
blemish  in  the  army." 

Washington  felt  the  want  of  powder  in  his 
army,  during  this  summer  and  autumn,  more  than 
anything  else.  He  found,  to  his  surprise,  that  at 
one  time  he  had  but  thirty-two  barrels  for  the 
entire  army.  Privateersmen  were  fitted  out  to 
attack  the  enemy's  vessels  that  were  hovering  on 
the  coast,  and  one  of  the  latter  was  finally  cap- 
tured by  Capt.  Manly,  with  a  large  supply  of 
cannon  and  ammunition.  There  were  no  powder 
mills  in  the  colonies  then.  Washington  was  very 
much  afraid,  too,  lest  the  British  commander 
should  find  out  his  condition  in  this  particular. 
Vessels  were  fitted  out  from  various  ports  for  the 
West  Indies,  to  bring  back  supplies  of  powder 
alone.  New  England  rum  was  sent  to  the  coast 
of  Africa,  where  it  was  exchanged  for  the  much 
needed  commodity. 

The  British  numbered  about  thirteen  thousand 
men,  while  the  Americans  hemming  them  in 
counted  nearly  fifteen  thousand.  In  November, 
Gen.  Putnam  threw  up  other  fortifications  on 
Cobble  Hill,  which  was  somewhat  nearer  to  the 
enemy  in  Boston  than  Ploughed  Hill,  which  had 

15 


170  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

already  been  occupied.  This  intrenchment  went 
by  the  name  of  "  Putnam's  impregnable  fortress," 
while  the  one  at  Prospect  Hill,  which  was  his 
head  quarters,  was  called  "  our  main  fortress." 
The  former  was  briskly  firecT  upon  by  the  Brit- 
ish cannon,  both  from  Bunker  Hill  and  on  board 
their  vessels,  while  the  men  were  engaged  in 
throwing  it  up;  but  no  damage  resulted.  As 
soon,  however,  as  the  fortifications  were  completed, 
the  guns  that  were  mounted  within  them  opened 
on  the  gun-boats  and  batteries  of  the  enemy  on 
Charles  river,  and  effectually  drove  them  from 
their  troublesome  position.  General  Gage  was 
becoming  uneasy,  thus  shut  in  by  the  American 
army.  His  men  lay  idle ;  vice  was  fast  increasing 
in  the  ranks ;  intoxication  was  becoming  quite 
common ;  and  the  entire  body  of  the  troops 
showed  signs  of  a  rapid  demoralization.  He  saw 
his  mistake  in  remaining  where  he  was.  He 
dared  not  march  out  into  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, and  strike  a  blow ;  for  it  might  be  that  he  had 
not  the  present  strength.  There  was  also  much 
rising  disaffection  both  among  his  officers  and 
soldiers.  The  Americans  printed  handbills,  and 
circulated  them  secretly  within  the  British  lines  ; 


171  SIEGE   OF   BOSTON. 

and  these  trifling  things  were  a  prolific  cause  of 
permanent  mischief.  There  is  a  handbill  now  in 
possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Soci- 
ety, which  was  printed  in  London,  and  circulated 
among  the  soldiers  who  were  about  to  embark  as 
reinforcements  for  America.  On  one  side  is  the 
phrase,  "  Before  God  and  man  they  are  right" 
On  the  back  of  the  same,  and  evidently  printed 
after  its  arrival  in  this  country,  were  two  state- 
ments, as  follows,  the  reader  remembering  that  at 
Prospect  Hill  were  Putnam's  head  quarters,  and 
at  Bunker  Hill  those  of  Gen.  Howe :  — • 

PROSPECT    HILL. 

I.  Seven  dollars  a  month. 

II.  Fresh  provisions,  and  in  plenty. 

III.  Health. 

IV.  Freedom,  ease,  affluence,  and  a  good  farm. 

BUNKER    HILL. 

I.  Three  pence  a  day. 

II.  Rotten  salt  pork. 

III.  The  scurvy. 

IV.  Slavery,  beggary  and  want. 

General  Gage  wrote  home  to  Lord  Dartmouth, 
in  the  month  of  June,  —  "  The  trials  we  have  had, 


172  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

show  that  the  rebels  are  not  the  despicable  rabble 
too  many  have  supposed  them  to  be."  In  July 
he  wrote  again,  in  speaking  of  the  rebellion, — 
"  This  province  began  it,  —  I  might  say  this  town ; 
for  here  the  arch  rebels  formed  their  scheme  long 
ago."  Provisions  at  length  began  to  grow  very 
scarce.  Gage  sent  out  parties  to  obtain  plunder 
of  this  sort,  but  they  always  returned  unsuccess- 
ful. Finally,  in  order  to  thin  out  the  population, 
it  was  determined  to  dismiss  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Boston  who  were  willing  to  go ;  it  being  esti- 
mated that  there  were  between  six  and  seven 
thousand  in  the  town,  whose  absence  would  make 
quite  a  difference  in  the  amount  of  supplies  re- 
quired. Those  who  wished  to  leave  were  told  to 
send  in  their  names ;  but  as  they  were  expressly 
forbidden  to  carry  any  of  their  plate  away,  or 
money  to  the  amount  of  more  than  five  pounds 
—  or  twenty-five  dollars,  —  to  each  person,  not 
more  than  two  thousand  names  were  given  in. 
People  of  property  would  not  go,  to  leave  their 
wealth  behind  them,  to  be  seized  and  divided 
among  a  foreign  soldiery.  But  in  the  number  of 
t hose*  who  did  leave,  many  of  the  women  quilted 
their  silver  spoons  and  coin  into  their  under-gar- 


SIEGE   OF  BOSTON.  173 

ments,  and  so  carried  off  much  of  their  valuables 
in  safety. 

Congress  began  to  grow  impatient  that  Wash- 
ington had  not  yet  risked  a  pitched  battle,  and  win- 
ter now  fast  coming  on.  They  found  fault,  some 
of  them,  with  his  inefficiency.  He  was  placed, 
however,  in  most  trying  circumstances.  He  was 
very  short  for  the  necessary  supplies  of  war,  while 
the  soldiers  began  to  consider  the  time  close  at 
hand  —  in  September  —  when  the  term  for  which 
they  had  enlisted  had  expired.  He  was  himself, 
therefore,  in  favor  of  bringing  on  an  action  be- 
tween the  armies  as  soon  as  it  could  be  done 
advantageously ;  but  the  officers  about  the  council 
board  thought  otherwise.  He  drew  up  a  letter  to 
Congress,  describing  his  situation ;  and  a  more 
melancholy  picture  than  he  sketched,  it  is  not 
easy  to  imagine.  He  laid  the  whole  blame  upon 
the  shoulders  of  Congress,  and  charged  it  upon 
them  that  the  paymaster  "  had  not  a  single  dollar 
in  hand,"  and  the  commissary  general  could  not 
strain  his  credit  any  farther.  He  told  them  whose 
fault  he  thought  it  was,  that  a  majority  of  the 
troops  were  "  in  a  state  not  far  from  mutiny,  upon 
a  deduction  from  their  stated  allowance."  Win- 


174  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

ter  was  approaching,  and  what,  he  asked,  was  to 
be  done?  All  this,  only  three  months  after  he 
had  taken  the  command. 

Gage  was  called  home  in  October,  and  General 
Howe  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
British  in  his  place.  The  latter  general,  however, 
was  as  unwilling  to  attack  the  Americans  as  Gage 
had  ever  been.  He  had  tried  their  mettle  for 
himself,  in  the  battle  on  Breed's  Hill.  So  he 
strengthened  his  position  in  the  town  as  much  as 
he  could,  and  prepared  to  pass  the  winter  com- 
fortably where  he  was.  He  fortified  Bunker  Hill 
more  strongly  still,  and  added  to  the  defences  on 
Boston  Neck.  He  pulled  down  many  buildings 
in  the  city,  and  erected  military  works  in  their 
place.  He  tore  out  the  pews  of  the  "  old  South 
Church,"  and  converted  the  building  into  a  riding 
school  for  his  cavalry.  A  British  gentleman  wrote 
from  Boston  in  October,  "  we  are  now  erecting 
redoubts  on  the  eminences  on  Boston  Common ; 
and  a  meeting-house,  where  sedition  has  been 
often  preached,  is  clearing  out  to  be  made  a  rid- 
ing-school for  the  light  dragoons."  Another  writer 
says,  "in  clearing  everything  away,  a  beautiful 
carved  pew,  with  silk  furniture,  formerly  belong- 


SIEGE   OF   BOSTON.  175 

ing  to  a  deceased  gentleman  in  high  estimation, 
was  taken  down  and  carried  to  Mr.  John  Arm- 
ory's house,  by  the  order  of  an  officer,  who  ap- 
plied the  carved  work  to  the  erection  of  a  hog- 
stye." 

A  committee  came  on  from  Congress  late  in 
the  autumn,  to  confer  with  Gen.  Washington 
and  lay  down  some  definite  plan  of  future  oper- 
ations. Dr.  Franklin  was  of  the  number.  Many 
of  the  soldiers  left  pretty  soon  after,  their  terms 
of  enlistment  having  expired ;  but  an  appeal  to 
the  people  of  New  England,  which  was  soon 
made,  called  forth  a  warm  and  most  cheering 
response.  Ten  thousand  men  placed  themselves 
in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning. 
And  pretty  soon  after,  the  wives  of  the  officers 
joined  them  in  the  camp,  which  brought  around 
lively  times  for  the  Christmas  holidays.  The  wife 
of  Gen.  Washington  came  on  from  Mount  Ver- 
non,  not  considering  herself,  just  then,  safe  in 
Virginia. 

In  January  of  the  next  year,  1776,  the  British 
made  preparations  to  send  a  fleet  around  to  New 
York.  Washington  heard  of  it,  and  ordered 
Gen.  Lee  across  the  country  to  that  city,  with 


176  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

authority  to  collect  such  an  army  as  he  could 
along  his  route,  and  then  make  the  best  defences 
for  the  city  he  was  able.  Connecticut  espec- 
ially helped  him  to  a  large  force.  He  at  once 
proceeded,  therefore,  to  fortify  the  city,  the 
heights  on  Long  Island,  and  the  Highland 
passes  on  the  Hudson.  Washington  resolved 
at  length  to  force  the  enemy  to  an  engagement, 
in  spite  of  the  advice  of  a  council  of  war  to  the 
contrary.  He  therefore  made  ready  to  occupy 
a  strong  position  on  Dorchester  Heights,  where 
he  could  command  the  town  and  the  harbor. 
These  heights  are  now  within  what  is  called 
South  Boston. 

On  the  night  of  the  2d  of  March,  he  opened 
his  fires  from  an  opposite  direction  upon  the 
city.  These  he  kept  up  for  the  two  nights  fol- 
lowing. The  object  of  this  was,  to  deceive  the 
British  as  to  his  real  intentions ;  so  that  when 
they  looked  up  at  the  Heights  on  the  morning 
of  the  5th  of  March,  they  saw  the  morning  of 
the  17th  of  June  previous  acted  all  over  again. 
They  were  struck  with  terror.  They  saw  that 
the  Americans  now  had  it  in  their  power  to  do 
with  them  almost  what  they  chose.  They  had 


SIEGE   OF   BOSTON.  17T 

but  one  course  to  pursue,  and  that  was  to  re- 
treat The  British  commander  planned  an  ex- 
pedition against  the  fortified  Americans,  under 
the  command  of  Lord  Percy,  but  it  amounted 
to  nothing.  A  storm  succeeded  in  scattering  the 
boats  in  which  the  troops  had  embarked,  which 
Washington  himself  very  deeply  regretted  ;  for 
had  it  occurred  otherwise,  he  was  sure  that  the 
entire  British  army  would  have  fallen  into  his 
hands.  His  own  plan  was  to  send  a  division 
into  the  city  from  another  quarter,  the  moment 
the  force  under  Lord  Percy  should  leave  it  to 
attack  Dorchester  Heights ;  and  Gen.  Putnam 
was  to  have  led  on  this  assault,  with  four  thous- 
and men.  The  story  goes,  that  while  this  plan 
of  Washington's  was  under  discussion  in  the 
council  of  officers,  Putnam  could  not  sit  easy 
in  his  chair,  but  kept  going  continually  to  the 
door  and  windows  to  look  out.  Washington 
urged  him  to  be  quiet,  —  to  sit  down  and  give 
his  advice  as  certain  questions  came  up  to  be 
decided.  "  Oh,"  said  Putnam,  "  you  may  plan 
the  battle  to  suit  yourself,  General,  and  I  will 
fight  it ! "  Whether  true  or  not,  it  is  character- 
istic enough  to  be  quite  probable. 


178  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

Nook's  Hill  —  which  was  still  nearer  to  the 
British  —  was  fortified  on  the  night  of  the  16th 
of  March,  and  then  they  knew  they  might  as 
well  be  going.  Accordingly  they  made  all  pos- 
sible haste  to  embark.  They  began  to  move  at 
sunrise,  and  by  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  were 
on  board  their  vessels,  and  on  their  way  out  to 
sea.  This  was  glorious  news  indeed.  Boston 
was  at  once  ordered  to  be  occupied  by  two  de- 
tachments of  troops,  under  command  of  Gen. 
Putnam.  He  took  possession  of  all  the  fortifi- 
cations which  were  thus  hastily  deserted,  amid 
general  congratulations  and  rejoicings.  It  is  re- 
lated that  the  British  left  wooden  sentries  on 
Bunker  Hill,  with  muskets  fixed  upon  their 
shoulders  ;  but  they  inspired  the  Americans 
with  no  great  amount  of  fear,  and  did  not  so 
much  as  serve  to  draw  the  charge  from  a  sin- 
gle musket 


CHAPTER    IX. 

OPERATIONS   IN  NEW   YORK. 

THE    British   fleet,  with   all  the  troops   on 
board,    sailed    immediately    to    Halifax. 
Gen.    Howe   expected   at   that   point  to 
be   reinforced  from   England,  before  proceeding 
to  make  any  further  demonstrations  against  the 
Colonists.     But  he  soon  found  his  quarters  there 
too  close  to  be  altogether  comfortable,  and   af- 
terwards  left   for   New    York,   reaching    Staten 
Island  in  the  latter  part  of  June. 

Major  General  Lee,  having  had  time  merely 
to  plan  his  defences  in  and  around  New  York, 
was  ordered  in  haste  to  take  command  of  the 
Southern  army,  and  posted  off  to  South  Caro- 
lina for  that  purpose.  Putnam  was  sent  to 
New  York  in  his  place,  and  assumed  command 
there  forthwith,  receiving  his  orders  from  Gen. 
Washington  on  the  29th  of  March,  or  only 


180  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

twelve  days  after  .the  British  left  Boston.  His 
special  duty  was  to  complete  the  defences  that 
had  been  designed  by  Gen.  Lee,  and  to  put  the 
army  under  his  immediate  command  in  as  good 
a  state  of  discipline  as  he  could.  His  head- 
quarters in  New  York  were  opposite  Bowling 
Green.  His  family  were  with  him  there,  and 
in  his  military  family  were,  with  others,  Major 
Aaron  Burr,  his  own  son,  and  Major  —  after- 
wards Colonel — Humphreys,  who  wrote  the  first 
biography  of  the  old  soldier  that  was  ever  read. 

Gen.  Putnam  had  hard  work  to  quell  the  feel- 
ing of  disaffection  which  he  found  to  be  so  com- 
mon around  him.  Oftentimes  plots  were  set 
on  foot  by  Americans  who  favored  the  British 
cause,  to  overthrow  which  required  all  his  vig- 
ilance and  industry.  There  were  plenty  of 
loyalists  on  Long  Island,  and  in  New  Jersey, 
who  were  not  at  all  backward  in  aiding  the  de- 
signs of  the  enemy,  by  performing  the  service 
of  spies  upon  the  doings  of  the  Americans.  At 
one  time  they  had  matured  a  plan  to  suddenly 
seixe  the  person  of  Gen.  Putnam,  and  deliver 
him  over  to  the  British.  Putnam  declared  mar- 
tial law,  which  of  cour.-.e.  subjer.tud  the  city  to 


OPERATIONS   IN   NEW   YORK.  181 

strict  military  rule,  such  as  prevails  in  a  camp. 
No  inhabitant  was  allowed  to  pass  any  sentry 
at  night,  who  could  not  give  the  countersign. 
The  people,  likewise,  not  yet  having  had  any 
open  rupture  in  that  quarter  with  the  British, 
were  in  the  habit  of  trading  with  their  vessels 
in  certain  commodities  that  were  wanted  by 
them,  which  of  course  produced  a  strikingly 
bad  effect  ;  this  traffic  General  Putnam  forth- 
with stopped ;  he  would  not  tolerate  any  com- 
merce or  communication  between  the  fleet  and 
the  shore.  Those  who  were  taken  in  the  act 
of  going  to  and  fro,  were  treated  as  open  ene- 
mies. He  appointed  an  Inspector  for  the  port, 
whose  duty  it  was,  among  other  things,  to  give 
permits  to  the  oystermen. 

He  sent  a  body  of  a  thousand  men  over  to 
fortify  Governor's  Island,  and  also  threw  up  de- 
fences at  Red  Hook,  and  along  the  Jersey  shore. 
The  great  object  then  was,  to  prevent  the  British 
from  landing ;  having  no  navy,  it  was  useless 
for  the  Americans  to  think  of  giving  any  trouble 
to  the  enemy's  fleet  where  it  was.  Finding  that 
the  expected  reinforcements  were  but  slow  in 
coming  forward,  the  British  general  again  put 
16 


182  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

to  sea  hoping  perhaps  to  fall  in  with  them.  Put- 
nam, however,  still  kept  at  work  according  to 
the  original  plan,  and  performed  a  vast  deal  of 
labor,  little  of  which  at  this  time  makes  any 
show  on  record,  in  rendering  the  city  safe  against 
the  assaults  of  enemies  either  without  or  within. 
A  British  ship,  about  this  time,  sent  a  boat  on 
shore  for  refreshments,  containing  a  midship- 
man and  twelve  sailors.  Putnam  ordered  an 
attack  on  all  such  visitors,  agreeably  to  which 
order  two  of  this  boat's  crew  were  killed  and 
the  rest  taken  prisoners. 

Washington  left  Boston,  and  reached  New 
York  about  the  middle  of  April.  He  very  well 
knew  that  the  next  effort  of  the  British  would  be 
to  strike  a  successful  blow  here,  for,  with  a 
base  line  for  operations  like  New  York,  they 
could  penetrate  northward  to  Canada,  eastward 
into  New  England,  or  westward  into  New  Jer- 
sey and  Pennsylvania.  Hence  his  exertions  were 
all  put  forth  to  prevent  the  city's  falling  into 
their  hands.  Governor's  Island  had  been  forti- 
fied by  Gen.  Putnam  already  ;  which  effectually 
checked  the  entrance  of  the  ships  from  the 
Narrows.  Hulks  were  now  sunk  in  the  chan- 


OPERATIONS   IN  NEW   YORK.  183 

nels  of  East  River  and  the  Hudson,  to  pre- 
vent their  vessels  coming  up.  The  great  need 
about  the  fortifications  was  heavy  cannon. 
Could  the  Americans  have  been  properly  sup- 
plied with  these,  the  city  would  never  have  fall- 
en into  the  hands  of  the  British  as  easily  as  it 
afterwards  did.  While  affairs  remained  in  this 
posture,  Washington  went  on  to  Philadelphia,  to 
exchange  views  with  Congress,  which  was  still 
in  session  there ;  and  during  his  absence  Put- 
nam again  resumed  the  chief  command.  He 
was  much  occupied,  in  the  absence  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, in  putting  down  the  secret 
schemes  and  plots  of  the  Tories,  many  of 
whom  where  to  be  found  in  the  lower  counties 
near  the  city,  on  Long  Island,  and  along  the 
Connecticut  shore.  Several  of  this  class  were 
arrested,  and  one  was  finally  tried  and  executed, 
as  an  example. 

It  being  continually  expected  that  the  enemy 
would  soon  arrive  with  a  larger  fleet  and  army, 
every  exertion  was  made  to  be  ready  to  give 
them  a  fitting  reception.  Congress  recommend- 
ed the  building  of  fire-boats,  or  rafts,  to  oppose 
the  ships  in  their  entrance  from  the  Narrows ; 


184  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

and  to  this  subject  Gen.  Putnam  gave  his  imme- 
diate and  earnest  attention.  The  expectation  of 
the  daily  arrival  of  a  large  British  fleet  was  not 
a  vain  one;  for  Howe's  brother  —  Lord  Howe, 
or  Admiral  Howe,  as  he  was  called,  —  soon  made 
his  appearance  off  New  York,  with  reinforce- 
ments that  at  once  gave  the  conflict  a  much 
more  serious  character  than  it  had  even  assumed 
before.  This  arrival  occurred  about  the  middle 
of  July.  Just  previous  to  this  event,  however, 
the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence  had 
been  passed  by  the  Continental  Congress  in 
Philadelphia,  declaring  the  Colonies  of  North 
America  no  longer  Colonies  of  Great  Britain, 
but  free  and  independent  States,  This  was  a 
step  forward,  and,  for  those  times,  quite  a  long 
one.  It  was  extremely  doubtful  how  this  act  on 
the  part  of  Congress  would  be  received  by  the 
army,  and  much  anxiety  was  for  a  time  felt 
concerning  it  John  Hancock,  the  President 
of  the  American  Congress,  sent  a  copy  of  it  to 
Gen.  Washington,  who  immediately  caused  it  to 
be  read  at  the  head  of  the  army,  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  accompanying  his  order  with  the 
recommendations  of  a  true  and  large-souled  pa- 
triot 


OPERATIONS  IN   NEW   YORK  185 

Together  with  the  force  under  Admiral  Howe, 
and  that  of  Gen.  Clinton,  who  had  also  returned 
at  about  the  same  time  from  the  south,  Gen. 
Howe  was  placed  at  the  head  of  an  army  of 
nearly  twenty-five  thousand  men,  the  very  flower 
of  the  European  armies.  Many  of  these  were 
troops  that  had  been  hired  for  the  war  by  Eng- 
land, who  were  called  mercenaries.  The  Hes- 
sians were  of  this  character.  These  troops  were 
experienced  in  the  art  of  war,  and  were  already 
in  a  very  high  state  of  discipline.  Against  them 
the  American  Commander  could  muster  only 
about  seventeen  thousand  men,  raw  militiamen, 
but  ten  thousand  of  whom  were  said  to  be  good 
for  anything  like  active  service.  The  design  of 
the  British  General  was  to  pass  up  the  Hudson, 
and,  by  preventing  any  further  union  between 
the  people  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  to 
conquer  the  one  and  put  a  stop  to  what  was  still 
considered  only  a  growing  disaffection  in  the 
other.  Accordingly,  not  long  after  their  arrival 
off  Staten  Island,  two  vessels  of  war  set  out 
and  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  American  fortifica- 
tions, on  their  way  up  the  Hudson.  The  Ameri- 
can guns  opened  on  them  as  they  passed,  but 
16* 


186  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

the  wind  being  favorable,  they  received  little  or 
no  damage  ;  by  taking  advantage,  also,  of  a  very 
high  tide,  the  enemy's  vessels  cleared  the  sunken 
hulks  without  any  difficulty.  After  passing  the 
forts,  they  anchored  in  Tappan  Zee,  a  broad  part 
of  the  river  some  forty  miles  above  the  city.  In 
this  position  they  could  not  be  reached  from  the 
shore,  and  they  could  intercept  whatever  sup- 
plies came  down  the  river  for  the  American 
army. 

The  most  that  could  be  done  by  the  American 
commander  to  annoy  the  enemy  in  their  new 
position,  was  done  faithfully.  To  this  end  fire- 
boats  were  constructed,  and  chevaux-de-frise  was 
sunk  across  the  river.  Fourteen  fire-ships  were 
prepared  to  sail'  secretly  among  the  enemy's  ves- 
sels of  war,  and  destroy  them  by  burning.  But, 
as  it  turned  out,  nothing  came  of  all  these  in- 
genious devices.  The  Americans  should  have 
had  a  well  equipped  navy,  in  order  to  success- 
fully compete  with  the  enemy  hovering  on  their 
coasts.  There  was  one  invention,  however,  that 
excited  a  great  deal  of  interest  then,  and  de- 
serves to  be  mentioned  in  this  place.  It  was 
a  marine  apparatus,  called  the  "  American  Tur- 


: 


BIJK   SHIPMAN    AM)   TIIK   TI  ItTLE 


I 


OPERATIONS   IN   NEW   YORK.  187 

tie,"  and  was  the  device  of  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Bushnell,  belonging  to  Connecticut.  It  was  a 
machine,  shaped  as  nearly  like  a  turtle  as  might 
be,  large  enough  in  its  interior  to  contain  a  man, 
and  provided  with  a  galvanic  apparatus  and  a 
supply  of  powder  with  which,  after  having  first 
secured  the  powder  to  the  bottom  of  the  enemy's 
vessel,  to  produce  an  explosion.  The  man  sit- 
ting within  it  could  row  himself  about  in  any 
direction,  and  was  furnished  with  lead  ballast 
to  sink  himself  out  of  sight  below  the  surface  of 
the  water. 

It  so  chanced  that  Bushnell  could  not  accom- 
pany this  machine  on  the  expedition  for  which 
it  was  designed,  and  so  a  fellow  named  Bije 
(Abijah)  Shipman  was  procured  in  his  place. 
Putnam,  with  several  other  officers,  went  down 
to  the  shore,  early  one  morning,  the  design  be- 
ing to  drift  down  the  stream  and  fasten  his  ex- 
plosive instrument  underneath  the  flag-ship  of 
Admiral  Howe,  —  the  Eagle.  Just  as  he  was 
about  to  ensconse  himself  within  the  curious 
craft,  he  must  needs  imagine  that  he  could  not 
get  along  without  a  quid  of  tobacco.  He  stuck 
his  head  out  of  his  hiding-place,  and  told  Gen. 


188  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Putnam  that  he  must  have  a  fresh  cud,  the  old 
cud  in  his  mouth  would  not  last  him  half  the 
way  there.  None  of  the  officers  could  just  thru 
supply  his  want,  though  they  promised  him  all 
he  wanted  at  a  future  time.  He  declared  he 
knew  the  plan  would  fail,  and  all  for  the  want 
of  a  fresh  chew  of  tobacco  !  It  did  fail.  Put- 
nam watched  late  into  the  morning  to  witness 
the  explosion  under  the  Admiral's  ship,  but  none 
took  place.  He  studied  the  proceeding  keenly 
through  his  glass,  and  at  last  descried  the  little 
black  object  drifting  away  just  to  the  left  of  the 
Eagle.  It  had  not  come  up  quite  in  the  right 
place.  The  sentinels  on  board  the  ship  saw  it 
as  it  rose,  and  fired  off'  their  muskets  at  the 
strange  object  "  Bije  "  went  under  as  if  they 
had  sunk  him  with  their  shot.  He  had  de- 
tached his  powder  magazine,  which  exploded  in 
about  an  hour  after,  as  designed,  throwing  up  a 
tremendous  spout  of  water  all  around.  The 
Eagle,  as  well  as  the  other  vessels  of  the  fleet 
near  by,  made  haste  to  lift  their  anchors  out 
of  the  mud  and  sail  away.  From  that  day 
until  New  York  finally  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  British,  their  vessels  kept  at  a  very  safe 


OPERATIONS    IN   NEW   YORK.  189 

and  respectful  distance.  "  Bije "  declared  ihat 
he  got  his  turtle  under  the  Eagle,  as  intended ; 
but,  on  the  first  trial,  the  screw  with  which 
he  was  to  secure  the  powder-magazine  to  her 
bottom  struck  against  a  piece  of  iron  ;  this 
made  him  "  narvous,"  and  he  could  do  noth- 
ing afterwards  !  It  all  fell  through,  just  be- 
cause he  was  obliged  to  hurry  off  without  a 
fresh  cud  of  tobacco! 

Washington  ordered  Gen.  Greene  to  take 
up  his  position  at  Brooklyn,  on  Long  Island, 
which  was  strongly  fortified  against  an  attack 
from  the  Island,  by  a  line  of  defences  extend- 
ing around  from  Wallabout  Bay  to  Gowanus's 
Bay.  These  were  considered  sufficient  pro- 
tection against  the  approaches  of  the  British 
by  the  land,  while  other  defences  furnished  se- 
curity against  attacks  by  sea.  Behind  these 
defences  stretching  from  one  bay  to  the  other, 
was  a  high  ridge,  —  or  back-bone,  so  to  call 
it,  —  thickly  covered  with  a  growth  of  wood. 
There  were  only  three  places  where  they  could 
be  traversed  by  a  force  of  cavalry,  or  through 
which  artillery  could  be  taken  ;  and  at  these 
three  points  were  roads,  regularly  constructed, 


190  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

which  led  from  the  ferry  at  the  Narrows  to 
Brooklyn  itself. 

Unfortunately  enough,  Gen.  Greene  fell  sick 
of  a  fever,  just  at  this  critical  time,  and  the 
command  devolved  on  Gen.  Sullivan.  On  the 
22d  day  of  August,  the  British,  under  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Clinton,  commenced  landing  from 
their  ships,  being  well  protected  by  their  guns. 
They  made  one  encampment  at  Flatland,  and 
another,  chiefly  of  Hessians,  at  Flatbush.  The 
British  were  divided,  in  fact,  into  three  sec- 
tions ;  a  right,  a  centre,  and  a  left.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  commanded  the  first,  De  Heister  the 
second,  and  Grant  the  third.  The  wooded 
heights  formed  the  natural  barrier  between  the 
two  armies.  If  the  British,  therefore,  were  to  fall 
upon  the  American  forces,  they  could  hope  to 
reach  them  only  by  one  of  the  three  roads,  or 
passes,  above  mentioned. 

Washington  sent  over  Gen.  Putnam  to  take 
command  of  the  camp  in  Brooklyn,  on  Sunday, 
the  25th  day  of  August.  The  battle  —  called 
the  Battle  of  Long  Island  in  history  —  took 
place  on  the  27th.  With  Putnam  likewise 
went  over  a  reinforcement  of  troops,  consist- 


OPEKATIONS   IN   NEW  YORK.  191 

ing  of  six  battalions.  The  directions  were  par- 
ticularly to  protect  the  passes  through  the  woods 
by  every  means  possible.  Gen.  Sullivan  had 
pushed  forward  from  the  American  camp  in 
Brooklyn,  and  erected  a  strong  redoubt  on  the 
heights  that  commanded  Flatbush,  where  the 
Hessians  lay  in  force. 

To  the  east  of  the  wood,  there  was  a  nar- 
row pass  that  conducted  from  Jamaica  to  Bed- 
ford, and  so  to  the  rear  of  the  American  works 
occupied  by  Gen.  Sullivan.  This  was  so  cir- 
cuitous -to  reach,  that  it  was  thought  the  point 
least  in  danger  ;  and  perhaps,  also,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  sudden  illness  of  Gen.  Greene 
and  the  consequent  '  change  of  command,  its 
importance  as  a  post  in  the  entire  plan  of  de- 
fences had  not  received  quite  as  much  atten- 
tion as  it  deserved.  Gen.  Clinton  found  out 
the  party  which  guarded  this  pass  was  not  so 
strong  but  that  they  might  be  easily  overcome ; 
and  in  order  to  take  timely  advantage  of  the  dis- 
covery, he  left  his  camp  at  Flatland,  at  nine 
o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  and  stealthily 
marched  round  to  surprise  the  militia  stationed 
there.  He  reached  the  place  just  before  the 


192  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

day  dawned ;  and  so  unexpected  was  his  ap- 
proach, that  the  entire  party  surrendered  them- 
selves prisoners,  without  offering  any  resist- 
ance. This  single  point  turned  the  entire  for- 
tunes of  the  day. 

Clinton  had  previously  arranged,  that  at  about 
the  time  when  he  should  have  taken  this  pass, 
the  right  division  should  make  demonstrations 
on  the  American  left,  or  against  the  other  ex- 
treme of  their  lines,  in  order  to  draw  off  their 
attention  from  the  real  danger.  These  arrange- 
ments were  carried  out  to  the  letter,  and  with 
surprising  success.  Gen.  De  Heister  also  made 
a  simultaneous  attack  with  his  Hessians  upon 
Gen.  Sullivan's  redoubt  over  Flatbush.  But 
neither  attack  was  intended  to  be  much  more 
than  a  feint  to  keep  the  Americans  from  any 
suspicion  of  the  real  design.  So  that  Clinton 
finally  stole  unobserved  through  the  easterly  pass, 
leading  from  Jamaica,  with  the  van  of  ihe  Brit- 
ish army,  supplied  with  all  the  artillery  and  cav- 
alry he  would  be  likely  to  require,  and  success- 
fully turned  the  American  left.  And  not  until 
the  British  had,  in  fact,  come  round  and  sud- 
denly burst  on  the  American  rear,  were  the 


OPERATIONS   IN   NEW   YORK.  193 

latter  aware  of  their  danger.  De  Heister  now 
seriously  attacked  Gen.  Sullivan's  works  in  the 
centre,  while  Clinton  came  upon  them  in  the 
rear.  There  they  were,  hemmed  in  between 
two  divisions  of  a  hostile  army.  There  was 
no  alternative  but  to  surrender,  and  Sullivan 
did  surrender.  He  was  taken  prisoner  himself, 
as  well  as  a  large  part  of  the  force  under  his 
immediate  command.  Many  of  the  Americans, 
however,  fought  their  desperate  way  through 
the  enemy  that  pressed  hotly  upon  them,  and 
retreated  in  safety  to  the  camp  at  Brooklyn. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  battle  was  going 
on  between  the  American  centre  and  the  Brit- 
ish centre,  as  above  described,  Gen.  Grant  was 
bringing  up  the  British  left  to  attack  the  Amer- 
ican right,  commanded  by  Lord  Stirling.  This 
resulted  also  in  a  rout  of  the  latter  force,  most 
of  whom,  however,  made  good  their  way  back 
to  Brooklyn.  Stirling  was  himself  taken  pris- 
oner, together  with  the  body  of  militia  he  had 
led  forward  to  the  vigorous  assault  which  he 
made  upon  the  enemy  in  order  the  better  to 
cover  the  retreat  of  the  remainder.  Sullivan 
did  all  that  a  brave  man,  suddenly  surrounded 
17 


194  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

by  an  enemy  far  superior  in  numbers,  could 
have  hoped  to  do.  He  fought  bravely  for  two 
long  hours,  maintaining  his  ground  for  that  time 
against  odds  that  would  have  appalled  many 
a  commander  less  courageous  and  self-reliant 
than  he. 

Gen.  Washington  came  over  from  New  York 
during  the  heat  of  the  engagement,  and,  from 
the  camp  in  Brooklyn,  himself  witnessed  the 
hopeless  loss  of  the  day.  The  British  were 
two  against  the  Americans'  one,  and  our  troops 
were  in  all  respects  inferior  to  those  whom 
they  were  called  to  meet.  The  Commander- 
in-chief  could  not  suppress  his  deep  excitement, 
at  seeing  the  havoc  thus  suddenly  produced  by 
the  enemy  ;  yet  there  was  nothing  that  he 
could  do  then  to  retrieve  the  fallen  fortunes  of 
his  army.  Gen.  Putnam  continued  to  carry 
out  his  orders  in  strengthening  the  defences 
of  the  camp,  and  providing  for  the  next  step 
that  had  already  been  decided  on.  For  it 
became  instantly  evident  that  the  Americatis 
could  not  hold  their  present  position.  They 
must  either  risk  another  attack  from  Clinton, 


OPERATIONS   IN   NEW   YORK.  195 

which    could   terminate  only  in  signal  disaster, 
or  take  counsel  of  prudence,  and  retreat. 

Washington  chose  the  latter.  Had  the  Brit- 
ish pursued  their  success  without  any  delay, 
they  would  unquestionably  have  struck  the  last 
and  heaviest  blow  at  the  American  Revolution ; 
it  would  then  have  appeared  on  the  pages  of 
history  only  as  a  rebellion.  But  in  the  very 
flush  and  excitement  of  victory,  they  suffered 
the  main  advantage,  and  their  only  permanent 
advantage,  too,  to  escape  them.  The  neglect  was 
very  similar  to  that  of  which  they  were  guilty 
immediately  after  carrying  the  works  on  Bun- 
ker Hill.  There  were  less  than  five  thousand 
Americans  in  this  battle,  on  the  27th  of  Aug- 
ust, of  which  number  the  army  lost  some  eleven 
hundred,  and  the  most  of  those,  prisoners.  The 
estimate  goes  that  nearly  two  thirds  of  all  who 
were  engaged  were  under  Lord  Stirling,  on 
the  American  right,  the  greater  part  of  whom 
effected  their  retreat  to  the  camp  in  perfect 
safety.  The  prisoners  taken  comprised  the 
small  parties  at  the  pass  on  the  Jamaica  road, 
who  were  captured  by  Clinton  before  daybreak, 
and  the  body  under  Gen.  Sullivan,  who  found 


196  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

themselves  suddenly  beset  on  one  side  by  the 
Hessians,  and  on  the  other  by  the  British,  un- 
der Clinton,  who  had  stolen  around  and  fallen 
upon  their  rear. 

The  enemy,  instead  of  pushing  forward  at 
the  moment  of  victory,  contented  themselves  with 
sitting  down  before  the  American  defences,  and 
at  once  began  to  erect  batteries  from  which 
to  assail  them.  Clinton  fell  to  this  work  with 
energy,  on  the  very  next  night  after  the  battle. 
On  that  same  night,  too,  Washington  and  Put- 
nam silently  removed  their  camp,  with  all  its 
provisions,  equipage,  ammunition,  and  general  ac- 
companiments, and  went  over  the  river.  There 
were  nine  thousand  men  to  be  got  across,  and 
it  must  all  be  done  in  a  few  hours,  and  in 
perfect  silence.  Washington  proved  himself 
equal  to  -so  wonderful  a  task  ;  one  which  has 
rarely  been  equalled,  certainly  never  surpassed, 
in  the  annals  of  successful  or  unsuccessful  war. 

The   British    sentinels    descried    the    American 

• 
rear-guard   crossing  over  in  the  midst  of  the  fog, 

just  as  the  day  broke  in  the  east.  The  latter 
were  clear  out  of  reach  of  the  enemy's  guns, 
and  had  eluded  them  in  a  way  they  least  ex- 


OPERATIONS    IN   NEW   YORK.  197 

The  entire  American  army,  therefore,  now  lay 
concentrated  in  New  York.  Governor's  Island 
was  abandoned,  and  all  the  troops  were  called 
in.  The  British  possessed  themselves  of  the 
deserted  positions  on  Long  Island  without  any 
delay,  and  thus  the  two  armies  were  separated 
only  by  the  narrow  breadth  of  East  River,  at 
the  farthest  point  not  more  than  a  half  mile 
across. 

17* 


CHAPTER    X. 

RETREAT   OF   THE  AMERICAN   ARMY. 

ALONG  line  of  fortifications  was  at  once 
erected  by  the    British  on   Long  Island. 
A  portion  of  their  fleet  sailed  around  and 
entered  the  Sound  at  its  eastern  extremity,  but 
the  main  body  of  it  remained  at  anchor  not  far 
from  Governor's  Island,  to  operate  in  the  direction 
of  either  the  East  or  Hudson  river,  as  the  case 
might  be. 

Washington's  quick  eye  saw  what  was  the 
enemy's  object,  at  a  glance.  They  intended  to 
cut  off  his  communication  with  the  back  country, 
and  by  surrounding  him  and  his  army  where  they 
then  were  —  on  New  York  Island, — to  compel  a 
speedy  surrender,  and  so  bring  thi  war  at  once  to 
a  close.  In  order  to  foil  the  enemy,  he  proceeded 
to  send  off  the  stores  that  were  not  immediately 
required  for  the  army.  Next  he  formed  the  army 


RETREAT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ARMY.  199 

into  three  divisions,  one  of  which  remained  to 
defend  the  city,  which  was  placed  under  com- 
mand of  General  Putnam,  —  one  was  sent  to 
King's  bridge,  some  distance  up  the  island,  —  and 
one  wa.s  stationed  between  the  other  two,  so  as 
to  be  ready  to  go  to  the  help  of  either  in  case  of 
an  attack.  Thus  they  remained  from  the  8th  of 
September  until  the  12th.  It  was  plain  that  an 
assault  was  to  be  made  very  soon,  and  a  council 
of  war  at  last  concluded  it  was  best  to  evacuate 
the  city  forthwith.  The  stores  had  already  been 
removed,  and  were  now  safe.  On  the  15th  of 
September  the  retreat  itself  began.  It  commenced 
a  little  sooner  than  was  at  first  intended,  on  ac- 
count of  an  attack  from  the  enemy  at  Kip's  Bay, 
some  three  miles  above  the  city.  The  Americans 
who  were  stationed  there  fled  in  a  cowardly  man- 
ner when  they  saw  the  enemy  approaching,  and 
the  reinforcement  of  two  brigades  sent  up  from 
the  city  by  Putnam,  likewise  turned  and  fled  as 
soon  as  they  came  in  sight  of  the  deserted  works. 
Washington  hurried  to  the  spot  in  a  towering 
excitement,  and  with  his  flashing  sword  ordered 
the  panic-stricken  men  whom  he  met  to  turn  back 
and  give  the  enemy  battle.  But  neither  menaces 


200  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

nor  personal  example  availed.  For  himself  he 
appeared  perfectly  reckless.  Tie  was  left  almost 
alone  within  eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  who  were 
already  beginning  to  surround  him;  and  had  not 
some  of  the  soldiers  who  were  near  sprang 
forward  and  forcibly  turned  his  horse  by  the  bridle, 
he  must  have  been  taken  prisoner. 

Upon  this  movement,  the  Americans  fell  back 
upon  Harlaem  Heights.  The  British  ships  —  a 
part  of  them  —  three  days  afterwards  moved 
towards  the  upper  end  of  the  island  on  the  Hud- 
son river  side,  and  anchored  opposite  Blooming- 
dale.  Putnam  retreated  last  from  the  city,  and 
of  course  was  exposed  to  a  double  danger ;  he 
had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  enemy  now  occu- 
pying the  main  road  on  the  easterly  side  of  the 
island,  and  the  fire  of  the  ships  that  had  taken 
position  on  the  Hudson  at  Bloomingdale.  He 
chose  the  latter  route  for  his  retreat,  and  began 
his  rapid  march.  It  was  an  extremely  sultry  day, 
and  the  men  were  quite  overcome  with  the  heat 
and  fatigue.  They  fell  fainting  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  as  they  hurried  on ;  they  stopped  to  slake 
their  feverish  thirst  at  the  brooks,  and  lay  down  and 
died  while  in  the  act  of  drinking.  The  exertions 


RETREAT  OP  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY.     201 

made  that  day  by  General  Putnam  were  almost 
superhuman.  He  pushed  his  horse  to  the  top  of 
his  speed,  riding  from  one  end  of  his  division  to 
the  other.  The  animal  was  flecked  with  foam. 
Major  Humphreys,  his  biographer,  who  was  with 
him  on  that  trying  occasion,  wrote  that  when  they 
had  nearly  reached  Bloomingdale,  an  aid-de-camp 
came  from  Putnam  at  full  speed,  to  inform  the 
regiment  to  which  he  belonged  that  a  column  of 
British  infantry  was  close  upon  their  right.  The 
regiment  filed  off  rapidly  to  the  left,  and  their 
rear  was  fired  upon  just  as  they  had  slipped  past 
the  line  which  the  British  had  now  succeeded  in 
drawing  across  from  river  to  river.  The  Colonel 
of  the  regiment  was  shot  down  and  killed  on  the 
spot  The  other  divisions  of  the  army  had  given 
up  General  Putnam's  command  for  lost;  and  it 
was  not  until  after  dark  that  his  brigades  all  came 
in  safety  inside  the  lines.  Considering  the  many 
difficulties  with  which  Putnam  had  to  conlrnd, 
his  safe  retreat  is  to  be  set  down  as  a  truly  won- 
derful performance. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  hurried  over  from  Kip's 
Bay,  on  the  easterly  side,  expecting  to  cut  off  Put- 
nam's force,  should  it  previously  have  escaped  the 


202  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

snares  set  for  it  below.  In  the  pursuit  of  this 
plan,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  pass  along  the 
east  of  Murray  Hill,  and  intercept  the  Americans 
at  a  point  beyond.  On  Murray  Hill  lived  a  gentle 
but  very  shrewd  Quaker  lady,  the  mother  of  the 
well-known  grammarian,  Lindley  Murray.  Gen- 
eral Putnam  sent  forward  a  message  to  her, request- 
ing her,  when  Sir  Henry  Clinton  should  reach  her 
house,  to  detain  him  by  some  innocent  stratagem 
until  the  American  army  could  have  time  to  get 
beyond  his  reach.  The  course  of  the  latter  lay 
to  the  west  of  the  hill,  and  so  on  northwardly. 
Presently  the  British  general  came  along.  Mrs. 
Murray  was  known  to  several  of  the  officers,  and 
it  was  thought  no  more  than  an  act  of  courtesy 
in  her  to  go  to  the  door  and  invite  them  all  in  to 
take  a  glass  of  wine.  They  were  glad  to  accept 
such  an  invitation,  and  accordingly  went  in  and 
sat  down  to  her  hospitalities.  The  ladies  present 
engaged  the  officers  in  agreeable  conversation,  and 
they  very  soon  became  oblivious  how  time  was 
flying.  Presently  a  negro  servant,  who  had  been 
stationed  by  his  mistress  on  the  top  of  the  house 
to  keep  watch,  entered  the  room  and  gave  the 
sign  previously  agreed  on.  Upon  which  Mrs. 


RETREAT   OF  THE   AMERICAN   ARMY.  203 

Murray  begged  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  step  out 
after  her,  as  she  had  something  she  wished  to 
show  him.  He  followed  her  in  silence  to  the 
observatory  on  the  house-top  ;  and  she  then 
pointed  triumphantly  to  the  retreating  column  of 
Americans  in  the  distance,  already  marching  over 
the  plains  of  Bloomingdale.  The  General  did  not 
so  much  as  stop  to  take  his  leave,  much  less  to  thank 
his  fair  hostess  for  her  hospitalities ;  but  dashed 
at  a  headlong  pace  down  the  stairs,  mounted  his 
horse,  and  called  on  his  troops  to  follow  after  at 
the  top  of  their  speed.  But  his  intended  victims 
had  quite  escaped  him.  The  hospitable  ruse  of 
the  lady  had  done  its  work  well. 

The  British  under  General  Howe  were  thus  in 
full  possession  of  New  York,  a  portion  of  their 
force  occupying  the  city,  but  the  greater  part 
being  pushed  forward  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
island.  They  stretched  their  hostile  lines  across 
from  one  river  to  the  other.  Up  at  King's  bridge 
were  the  Americans,  as  strongly  fortified  as  their 
position  allowed.  Advanced  posts  were  also 
occupied  by  the  American  troops,  at  one  of  which 
General  Putnam  was  placed  in  command.  Par- 
ties of  the  enemy  appeared  in  the  plains  between 


204  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

the  two  hostile  camps,  shortly  after  the  retreat  of 
the  Americans  to  King's  bridge.  Lieut.  Col. 
Knowlton,  —  a  very  brave  young  officer  from  Con- 
necticut, who  served  at  the  rail-fence  during  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  —  came  in  and  reported  to 
the  Commander-in-chief  the  strength  of  one  of 
these  skirmishing  parties.  He  was  immediately 
ordered  to  make  a  circuit  and  gain  the  enemy's 
rear,  at  the  same  time  that  an  attack  was  made 
on  them  in  front.  The  enemy  saw  fit  to  change 
their  position  before  Knowlton  became  aware  of 
it,  and  he  fell  upon  them  rather  in  flank  than  in 
rear.  In  the  heat  of  the  conflict,  to  which  he  led 
his  men  forward  with  very  marked  bravery,  he  fell, 
pierced  with  the  enemy's  bullets.  His  wounds 
proved  mortal;  but  the  men  under  him  maintained 
their  ground,  and  finally  drove  the  British  from 
their  position  entirely.  No  one  in  the  army  felt 
the  death  of  Knowlton  more  than  General  Put- 
nam. He  was  his  particular  pet  and  favorite ;  he 
had  served  under  him  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war,  was  also  present  at  the  taking  of  Montreal, 
and  bore  a  part  in  the  memorable  hardships  attend- 
ant on  the  Havana  expedition.  He  was  born  but  a 
few  miles  above  Pom  fret,  in  the  town  of  Ashford, 


RETREAT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY     205 

and  had  risen  from  rank  to  rank  in  the  army  with 
great  rapidity.  General  Washington  lamented 
his  death  in  his  general  orders  of  the  next  day, 
taking  the  same  occasion  to  hold  him  up  to  the 
army  as  an  example  of  bravery  well  worth  their 
emulation.  In  contrasting  the  conduct  of  the 
men  on  that  day  with  their  cowardly  conduct  at 
Kip's  Bay,  Washington  observed  that  this  last 
skirmish  showed  "  what  may  be  done,  where  offi- 
cers and  soldiers  will  exert  themselves." 

The  policy  of  the  British  commander  now,  as 
the  armies  lay  opposite  one  another,  was  to  bring 
on  a  general  engagement.  Washington,  however, 
was  averse  to  putting  so  much  to  hazard.  While 
he  felt  very  certain  that  in  a  pitched  battle  he 
could  hardly  expect  anything  but  defeat,  he  was 
also  quite  as  well  satisfied  that  he  had  it  in  his 
power  to  harass  the  enemy  to  the  last  extremity 
of  endurance.  Upon  this  latter,  and  only  remain- 
ing plan,  therefore,  he  had  at  last  determined. 

But  General  Howe  was  not  yet  willing  to 
give  over  all  further  efforts  to  tempt,  or  force,  the 
American  commander  into  the  field.  Disap- 
pointed, however,  in  one  way,  he  was  none  the 
less  ready  to  try  another.  Accordingly  he  set  on 
18 


206  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

foot  a  plan  to  gain  their  rear,  cut  them  off  from 
all  communication  with  supplies  in  the  back  coun- 
try, and,  having  thus  surrounded  them,  to  force 
them  to  lay  down  their  arms.  Nothing  was  more 
plausible,  in  the  way  of  a  plan,  and  the  results 
expected  from  it  would  be  very  certain  to  follow ; 
but  the  trouble  arose  in  the  attempt  to  carry  it 
out  into  practice.  Still,  Howe  was  eager  to  make 
such  an  attempt.  For  this  purpose,  he  ordered 
several  vessels  of  war  up  the  Hudson,  which 
managed  to  pass  Forts  Washington  and  Lee 
without  receiving  any  material  damage ;  a  few 
days  afterwards  he  took  with  him,  in  flat  bottomed 
boats,  a  large  part  of  his  army  up  through  Hell 
Gate,  and  landed  at  Frog's  Point,  not  far  from 
the  village  of  Westchester.  This  was  about  nine 
miles  above  the  American  encampment  on  the 
heights  of  Haerlem. 

The  British  next  set  out  across  the  country  in 
the  direction  of  White  Plains.  The  American 
force  lay  stretched  along  a  line  some  dozen  miles 
in  extent,  all  the  way  from  King's  bridge  to  White 
Plains.  They  invariably  held  possession  of  the 
heights  along  the  route,  which  gave  them  every 
desirable  natural  advantage.  As  General  Howe 


RETREAT   OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY.  207 

had  now  disposed  the  two  armies  by  his  new 
movement,  the  little  Bronx  river  was  all  that  lay 
between  them.  On  the  other  bank  of  Ihe  Bronx, 
and  about  a  mile  from  the  main  body,  was  posted 
Gen.  McDougall,  with  fifteen  hundred  militia. 
He  occupied  a  hill  also,  and  it  was  easy  for  his 
men  to  wade  the  river  over  to  the  main  body,  at 
the  point  where  he  was  stationed.  Howe  deter- 
mined to  attack  this  position  of  Gen.  McDougall, 
for  which  purpose  he  despatched  one  body  of 
Hessian  troops  to  march  around  and  surprise  him 
in  rear,  while  a  second  body  of  British  and  Hes- 
sians came  up  and  assailed  him  in  front.  The 
Americans,  after  a  vigorous  resistance,  were  com- 
pelled to  give  way,  but  they  kept  up  a  spirited 
and  galling  fire  from  behind  the  stone  walls  as 
they  retreated.  Putnam  was  ordered  to  reinforce 
McDougall,  and  hastened  to  do  so ;  but  he  met 
the  latter  in  full  retreat,  and  it  was  not  judged 
proper  to  try  to  retake  the  height  from  which  his 
men  had  been  dislodged. 

Washington  expected  that  the  British  would 
follow  up  this  advantage  with  a  general  attack, 
and  he  labored  energetically  through  the  night  to 
increase  the  strength  of  his  present  defences. 


208  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Howe  concluded  to  postpone  the  attack,  however, 
till  another  occasion.  In  the  meantime,  on  the 
night  of  the  first  of  November,  which  was  dark 
and  opportune  for  the  purpose,  Washington  with- 
drew his  whole  army  to  a  post  about  five  miles 
distant,  \\  hither  he  had  already  managed  to  send 
his  baggage  and  provisions.  Howe  was  not  in- 
clined to  offer  him  any  further  molestation  where 
he  was,  but  turned  his  attention  to  Forts  Wash- 
ington and  Lee,  which  the  Americans  continued 
to  hold,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  British, 
because  they  were  still  in  their  rear.  First  he 
made  a  demonstration  against  Fort  Independence, 
at  King's  bridge.  The  Americans  deserted  that 
fortification  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  British  ap- 
proaching, and  retreated  to  Fort  Washington.  A 
detachment  of  British  pursued,  and  took  up  a 
position  between  Fort  Washington  and  Fort  Lee; 
while  the  rest  of  the  army,  with  General  Howe  at 
their  head,  returned  by  the  Hudson  to  New  York. 
It  was  thus  apparent  to  Washington  that  Howe 
contemplated  an  invasion  of  New  Jersey.  To 
provide  against  this,  he  ordered  General  Putnam 
to  take  command  of  all  the  troops  enlisted  from 
the  west  of  the  Hudson,  and  to  cross  the  river  at 


RETREAT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ARMY.     209 

once.'  This  he  did  on  the  8th  of  November,  and 
posted  himself  at  Hackensack.  Fort  Lee  was 
placed  in  the  command  of  General  Greene,  with 
power  to  defend  Fort  Washington,  which  was  on 
the  New  York  side  of  the  river.  Greene  was 
invested  with  discretionary  powers  in  relation  to 
the  defence  of  these  two  posts,  and  a  difference 
of  opinion  arose  between  himself  and  Washing- 
ton as  to  the  policy  of  attempting  to  hold  them 
any  longer.  The  Commander-in-chief  believed 
the  effort  useless,  especially  as  the  enemy  were 
concentrating  their  forces  for  an  assault  ;  but 
Greene  thought  they  should  be  held  to  the  very 
last,  and  proceeded  to  strengthen  Fort  Washing- 
ton accordingly.  He  placed  Colonel  McGaw  in 
command  there,  with  what  he  considered  an  ad- 
equate force  to  defend  the  place.  On  the  15th  of 
November,  McGaw  received  a  summons  from 
Gen.  Howe  to  surrender,  threatening,  if  he  did  not, 
that  the  garrison  should  be  put  to  the  sword. 
McGaw  refused,  and  sent  a  despatch  across  the 
river  to  Greene,  informing  him  of  his  situation. 
Greene  in  turn  forwarded  the  intelligence  to  Gen- 
eral Washington,  who  was  at  Hackensack  with 
Putnam.  Washington  hastened  to  Fort  Lee,  and, 
18* 


210  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

not  finding  Greene  there,  pushed  in  the '  night 
across  the  river  to  the  other  fort.  He  met  Green 
and  Putnam  in  the  river,  on  the  way  back,  with 
the  news  that  the  garrison  would  hold  out  with- 
out any  difficulty.  Accordingly  all  three  went 
back  to  Fort  Lee.  On  the  very  next  day,  how- 
ever, the  British  general  stormed  Fort  Washing- 
ton and  put  the  garrison  to  the  sword,  as  he  had 
threatened.  On  that  single  day,  three  thousand 
of  the  Americans  perished. 

It  was  worse  than  useless  now  to  attempt  to 
hold  Fort  Lee,  and  Washington  directed  the 
immediate  removal  of  the  ammunition  and  stores. 
They  set  to  work  to  accomplish  this  as  hastily  as 
possible  ;  but  before  they  could  fairly  get  clear  of 
danger,  they  found  themselves  nearly  hemmed  in 
by  a  British  force  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  on  the 
tract  between  the  Hudson  and  Hackensack  rivers. 

They  managed  to  secure  their  escape  across  the 
Hackensack,  but  it  was  at  a  great  risk ;  and  even 
then,  they  left  their  cannon,  tents,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  stores  behind  them,  which  in  their 
precipitate  flight  they  were  compelled  to  relinquish. 
And  now  they  were  hardly  better  off  than  before;: 
for  parallel  with  the  Hackensack  runs  the  Passaic 


RETREAT    OF   THE   AMERICAN  ARMY.  211 

for  a  long  distance.  The  British  could  again  hem 
them  in,  if  they  followed  up  the  pursuit ;  and  to 
avoid  the  same  danger  the  second  time,  they 
effected  another  hasty  retreat  across  the  Passaic. 
Now  began  to  set  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Rev- 
olution. The  militia  were  discouraged  with  noth- 
ing but  retreat  and  defeat,  and  left  the  army  in 
large  numbers  as  fast  as  their  terms  of  enlistment 
expired.  The  military  stores  amounted  to  scarcely 
anything  worth  mentioning.  It  was  late  in  No- 
vember, and  bleak  winter  was  close  at  hand.  Not 
more  than  three  thousand  men  in  all  still  remained 
under  the  standard  of  Washington.  All  around 
them  were  disaffected  persons  and  open  loyalists; 
and  the  army  had  thus  a  double  foe  to  fight,  and 
a  double  danger  to  overcome.  One  by  one  the 
cities  of  New  Jersey  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands, — 
Newark, New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  and  Trenton: 
they  took  possession  of  the  country  as  fast  as  the 
Americans  retreated.  And  when  that  "  phantom 
of  an  army  "  —  as  Hamilton  called  it,  —  that  still 
clung  to  Washington,  crossed  the  Delaware  on 
the  eighth  day  of  Pecember,  there  was  nothing 
but  that  single  river  between  the  over-running 
enemy  and  the  city  where  the  Continental  Con- 


212  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

gress  daily  met  to  consult  for  the  future  of  the 
nation  that  was  not  yet  born.  The  brothers  Howe 
—  the  General  and  the  Admiral  —  seemed  to  have 
everything  their  own  way.  They  held  the  entire 
country  from  Rhode  Island  to  the  Delaware,  and 
none  knew  how  long  before  they  would  strike  the 
blow,  so  much  dreaded,  against  Philadelphia  itself. 
They  also  scattered  proclamations  all  over  the 
land,  especially  among  those  who  had  not  yet 
fully  decided  to  embrace  the  cause  of  America 
against  England  ;  and  in  these  proclamations  they 
freely  offered  pardon  and  favor  to  all  who,  within 
a  given  time,  would  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  King.  A  great  number  embraced  the  offer 
thus  made,  and  by  so  much  of  course  darkened 
the  prospects  of  those  who  were  still  hoping  and 
toiling  for  the  ultimate  independence  of  their 
country. 

General  Putnam  stood  by  his  great  Command- 
er's side  through  the  whole  of  this  dark  disaster, 
unshaken  in  his  resolution  to  do  all  that  he  could 
do  for  his  native  land.  When  others  faltered,  he 
never  hesitated  or  swerved.  Upon  him  Washing- 
ton knew  that  he  could  depend,  even  if  all  others 
finally  failed  him. 


RETREAT   OF  TlIB   AMERICAN   ARMY.  213 

Congress  having  resolved  that  Philadelphia 
should  be  defended  to  the  last  extremity,  Putnam 
was  directed  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  erecting 
the  proper  fortifications.  "  Upon  the  salvation  of 
Philadelphia,"  wrote  Washington,  "  our  cause 
almost  depends."  His  selection  of  Putnam  to 
take  supreme  command  there,  sufficiently  attests 
the  high  confidence  he  reposed  in  his  ability  and 
character.  He  wrote  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
on  the  9th  of  December,  that  "a  communication 
of  lines  and  redoubts  from  the  Delaware  to  the 
Schuylkill,  on  the  north  entrance  of  the  city,  might 
be  formed  ; "  that  "  every  step  should  be  taken  to 
collect  a  force,  not  only  from  Pennsylvania,  but 
from  the  neighboring  states ; "  and  that  the  com- 
munication by  water  should  be  kept  open  for  sup- 
plies. Putnam  found  a  disaffected  class  of  people, 
—  and  people  of  wealth  and  influence,  too, — in 
the  city,  against  whom  it  was  very  trying  for  him 
to  set  up  his  own  authority,  with  any  hope  of 
success :  yet  he  did  succeed  in  bringing  order  out 
of  disorder,  and  by  his  sleepless  energy  established 
the  authority  of  the  American  arms.  He  was 
summoned  before  Congress  to  confer  with  that 
body  respecting  the  city's  safety,  and  in  obedience 


214  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

to  his  sno^estions  they  resolved  to  adjourn,  and 
did  adjourn  on  the  12th  to  meet  again  on  the  20th 
of  December,  in  Baltimore. 

He  at  once  placed  the  city  under  martial  law, 
as  he  had  previously  done  at  the  time  he  held 
supreme  command  in  New  York.  Yet  he  \vus 
extremely  prudent  about  making  any  display 
of  his  authority,  too ;  doing  nothing  that  would 
cause  needless  irritation  on  the  part  of  the  disaf- 
fected inhabitants,  and  using  every  proper  means 
to  conciliate  their  confidence  and  good  will.  He 
labored  to  complete  the  defences,  with  all  his 
energy ;  so  arduous  were  his  exertions,  that  his 
health  for  a  time  gave  way  under  them.  He  had, 
in  fact,  a  double  duty  to  perform ;  to  erect  de- 
fences against  the  enemy  without,  and  to  secure 
himself  from  an  enemy  equally  formidable  within 
the  city.  It  was  while  General  Putnam  was  thus 
engaged,  that  Washington  boldly  moved  forward 
and  struck  two  decisive  blows,  —  at  Trenton,  and 
then  at  Princeton,  —  which  suddenly  electrified 
and  energized  the  whole  army  and  country.  It 
was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  have  Putnam  cooperate 
in  these  brilliant  exploits  of  the  Comrnander-in- 
chief,  both  with  a  portion  of  his  Philadelphia 


RETREAT   OF  THE   AMERICAN  ARMY.  215 

troops  and  a  body  of  Pennsylvania  militia ;  but 
the  fear  of  a  sudden  rising  among  the  loyalists  of 
the  city  made  such  a  design  impracticable.  Two 
letters  from  Washington  to  Putnam,  one  just  on 
the  eve  of  these  bold  enterprises,  indicate  very 
plainly  what  were  the  feelings  of  the  Commander- 
in-chief  at  that  time.  In  the  first,  he  advises 
General  Putnam  to  remove  the  public  stores  to  a 
place  of  greater  safety,  as  the  enemy  had  said 
they  would  enter  the  town  within  twenty  days ; 
but  in  the  other,  written  some  days  afterwards,  he 
expresses  the  opinion  that  the  British  are  seized 
with  a  panic,  and  that  he  will  yet  be  able  to  drive 
them  out  of  the  Jerseys  altogether. 

Finding  that  affairs  were  thus  taking  a  favor- 
able turn,  he  ordered  Putnam  into  the  field  again. 
He  was  directed,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1777,  to 
march  the  troops  under  his  command  to  Cross- 
wick,  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Trenton,  where  he 
might  be  able  both  to  keep  a  strict  watch  on  the 
enemy  and  to  obtain  any  advantage  that  offered. 
Washington's  plan  was  to  harass  the  British  army 
by  every  method  within  the  reach  of  his  ingenuity. 
Putnam  was  ordered  to  keep  spies  out  continu- 
ally, so  that  he  might  not  be  taken  by  surprise ; 


216  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

and  also  to  make  it  appear  to  the  enemy,  by  such 
means  as. he  could,  that  his  force  was  a  great  deal 
stronger  than  it  really  was.  Inasmuch  as  the  Brit- 
ish seemed  inclined  to  make  no  demonstration 
against  them,  but  rather  concentrated  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  winter  in  New  Brunswick  and 
Amboy,  Putnam  was  soon  after  ordered  into  win- 
ter quarters  at  Princeton,  which  was  some  fifteen 
miles  distant.  He  had  but  a  handful  of  troops 
with  him  at  the  most;  and  had  he  been  attacked 
in  his  position  at  any  time,  would  have  been  forced 
to  retreat  without  offering  battle. 

He  employed  every  device  to  conceal  from  the 
enemy  the  actual  paucity  of  his  numbers.  In  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  Capt.  McPherson,  a  Scotch 
officer,  had  received  a  wound  which  it  was  thought 
was  about  to  terminate  fatally.  Until  Putnam 
quartered  in  the  town,  however,  he  had  not  even 
had  medical  attendance,  it  being  considered  that, 
as  he  was  likely  to  die  any  day,  it  was  therefore 
quite  useless;  but  Putnam  provided  him  with  a 
careful  physician,  as  soon  as  his  case  was  known, 
who  did  all  that  he  could  for  his  relief.  Being  in 
his  presence  one  day,  the  Scotchman  protested 
his  gratitude,  and  asked  Putnam  to  what  country 


RETREAT   OP  THE  AMERICAN   ARMY.  217 

he  belonged.  "  I  am  a  Yankee,"  said  the  general. 
"  I  did  not  believe,"  answered  the  sufferer,  "  that 
there  could  be  so  much  goodness  in  an  American, 
or  in  anybody  but  a  Scotchman."  The  poor  fel- 
low thought  himself  about  to  die,  at  length,  and 
begged  that  a  British  officer,  a  friend  of  his,  might 
be  sent  for,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  come  and 
help  him  make  his  will.  Putnam  wished  to  gratify 
the  dying  man's  request,  but  it  would  not  answer 
to  let  a  British  officer  see  what  a  meagre  force  he 
had  around  him.  Indeed,  to  tell  the  truth,  he  had 
but  fifty  men  in  the  town  at  the  time,  all  the  rest 
of  his  men  having  been  sent  out  to  protect  the 
country  around.  Putnam's  mother  wit,  however, 
was  as  ready  as  ever  to  serve  him.  He  sent  out 
a  flag  of  truce  with  the  errand,  enjoining  upon 
the  messenger  not  to  return  with  the  British  officer 
until  after  dark.  The  moment  evening  came  on, 
therefore,  Putnam  had  all  the  windows  in  the 
college  buildings  illuminated,  as  well  as  those  in 
the  other  vacant  houses  of  the  town.  He  like- 
wise kept  his  little  squad  of  fifty  men  marching 
up  and  down  the  streets  continually,  and  making 
as  much  of  a  martial  display  as  possible.  Under 
such  highly  imposing  circumstances  was  the  Brit- 

19 


218  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

ish  officer  conducted  to  the  quarters  of  his  Scotch 
friend,  and  finally  suffered  to  depart.  When  he 
got  back  to  the  British  camp  again,  he  reported 
that  General  Putnam  could  not  have  under  his 
command  a  force  of  less  than  five  thousand  men. 

To  protect  the  friends  of  the  American  cause 
from  the  persecutions  of  loyalists,  was  a  duty  that 
during  this  time  engaged  much  of  the  labor  of 
Putnam,  and  likewise  exercised  all  the  judgment, 
delicacy,  tact,  and  prudence,  of  which  he  was  the 
possessor.  The  rest  of  the  winter  was  occupied 
chiefly  with  skirmishes.  Col.  Neilson  was  sent, 
on  the  17th  of  February,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  to  surprise  a  party  of  loyalists  that  had  for- 
tified themselves  at  Lawrence's  Neck.  There 
were  sixty  of  the  other  party,  belonging  to  what 
was  called  Cortlandt  Skinner's  brigade.  They 
were  all  taken  prisoners.  Major  Stockton,  their 
commander,  was  sent  to  Philadelphia  by  General 
Putnam,  in  irons. 

Not  long  after  this,  another  party  of  foragers 
was  reported  to  be  scouring  the  country,  and 
Major  Smith  was  sent  forward  to  hang  on  their 
rear  until  Putnam  himself  should  come  up.  But 
the  Major  was  a  little  impatient,  or  ambitious  of 


RETREAT   OP  THE  AMERICAN   ARMY.  219 

renown,  and  fell  upon  the  party,  which  he  had 
already  enticed  into  a  snare,  putting  them  to  rout 
and  carrying  off  several  prisoners,  horses,  and 
baggage-wagons. 

Thus  the  winter  of  1776-7  passed  away.  In 
the  time  he  had  been  in  New  Jersey,  General 
Putnam  had  taken  a  thousand  prisoners,  and  at 
least  a  hundred  and  twenty  baggage  wagons.  In 
one  skirmish  he  captured  ninety-six  wagons,  laden 
with  provisions  for  the  enemy.  He  likewise  by 
his  prudence  and  firm,  but  conciliatory  manner, 
added  great  strength  to  the  American  cause,  and 
left  the  Jerseys  at  last,  which  he  did  in  May,  in  a 
very  different  condition  from  that  in  which  they 
were,  when  he  first  set  foot  upon  their  soil.  Few 
men,  in  the  army  or  out,  could  have  performed  the 
service  for  which  the  Commander-in-chief  thought 
him  in  all  respects  so  admirably  qualified. 


CHAPTER     XI. 

IN   THE    HIGHLANDS. 

THE  British  were  manoeuvring  just  at 
this  time  so  strangely,  that  Washing- 
ton was  hardly  able  to  determine  what 
object  they  really  had  in  view  next.  They 
had  a  force  in  Canada,  under  Burgoyne,  with 
which  it  was  thought  Howe  was  anxious  to 
open  a  communication  by  the  Hudson  River ; 
then  it  was  suspected  that  the  Canada  troops 
would  go  round  to  New  York  by  sea,  and  thus 
effect  a  union  with  the  troops  under  Howe 
without  risking  an  attempt  by  land ;  and  then 
again,  in  the  month  of  July,  it  was  a  greater 
mystery  still  in  which  direction  Howe  was  go- 
ing, when  he  set  sail  with  his  army  from  the 
port  of  New  York.  All  these  contingencies 
the  American  commander  was  obliged  care- 
fully to  guard  against. 


IX  THE   HIGHLANDS.  221 

To  this  end,  it  was  necessary,  first,  that  the 
fortress  of  Ticonderoga  should  be  strengthened, 
and  provided  against  a  surprise  ;  second,  that 
the  passes  in  the  Highlands  should  be  so  guard- 
ed as  to  prevent  any  union  of  the  two  hostile 
armies  by  way  of  the  river ;  and  third,  that  the 
important  post  of  Philadelphia  should  be  de- 
fended to  the  very  last  extremity.  Enough, 
one  would  think,  to  engage  all  the  energies 
of  any  commander. 

The  Highlands  were  to  be  defended  at  all 
cost  and  hazard.  An  ingenious  method  had 
already  been  devised  by  Generals  Greene  and 
Knox  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  enemy's 
ships  up  the  river,  by  means  of  a  heavy  chain, 
supported  at  regular  intervals  by  floating  logs 
of  wood,  and  stretched  across  from  one  shore 
to  the  other.  A  couple  of  armed  vessels  \vere 
also  to  be  stationed  so  as  to  rake  the  enemy's 
ships,  whenever  they  might  approach.  Arnold 
had  been  previously  entrusted  with  the  com- 
mand on  the  river,  on  account  of  Washington's 
sympathy  foi  the  treatment  with  which  Con- 
gress had  vis:  ted  him  ;  but  as  his  own  private 
affairs  compelled  him  to  be  in  Philadelphia, 
19* 


222  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

his  command  was  transferred  to  Gen.  Putnam, 
and  the  latter  took  post  at  the  head  of  the  army 
of  the  Highlands,  in  the  month  of  May,  1777. 

The  excessive  labor  and  exposure  which  was 
required  of  Gen.  Putnam,  while  energetically 
carrying  out  the  plans  for  the  protection  of  the 
river,  are  thought  to  have  brought  on  the  sud- 
den assault  of  disease  which,  not  much  more 
than  two  years  later,  compelled  his  countrymen 
to  dispense  with  his  active  services  altogether. 
The  width  of  the  river  where  the  cable  was  to 
be  thrown  across,  was  five  hundred  and  forty 
yards.  The  cable  was  not  to  be  stretched  over 
in  a  straight  line  from  shore  to  shore,  but  diag- 
onally, in  order  to  offer  a  more  effective  resist- 
ance to  the  current  of  the  river.  Working  early 
and  late  about  business  of  this  character,  being 
out  in  all  weathers,  and  often  standing  in  the 
water  for  hours  together,  was  quite  too  much 
for  the  constitution  of  a  man  who  did  not  stop 
to  consider  that  he  was  growing  old,  and  finally 
resulted  in  serious  and  irreparable  mischief. 

Hardly  had  he  entered  upon  his  new  com- 
mand, when  Washington  proposed  to  him  a 
sudden  descent  upon  the  enemy  who  were  forti- 


IN   THE  HIGHLANDS.  223 

fied  at  King's  bridge ;  the  letter  written  by  the 
latter  on  the  subject  is  full  of  interest,  and  lets 
the  reader  into  the  speculations  of  the  great 
man's  mind  in  those  trying  times.  But  the 
contradictory  conduct  of  the  enemy  diverted  his 
attention  from,  this  design,  and  drew  it  rather 
to  the  preservation  of  the  important  posts  he 
still  held.  As  soon,  then,  as  the  British  en- 
campment at  Brunswick  was  broken  up,  Wash- 
ington made  ready  to  oppose  their  march  upon 
Philadelphia,  which  he  had  reason  to  think  was 
the  direction  of  their  next  movement.  In  or- 
der to  do  this  the  more  effectually,  he  sent  for 
the  whole  of  Putnam's  force  except  a  thousand 
men.  These,  with  the  militia  of  the  region,  were 
thought  to  be  sufficient  to  protect  his  position. 
Then  it  was  reported  to  Gen.  Putnam  that 
Burgoyne  was  marching  down  upon  him  from 
the  direction  of  Canada ;  and  to  provide  against 
this,  he  was  obliged  to  hold  four  regiments  in 
readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning.  The 
great  danger  on  the  Hudson  just  then  seemed 
to  be,  that  Burgoyne  from  above  and  Howe 
from  below  would  succeed  in  uniting  their  for- 
ces; and  that  was  the  plan  which  it  was  very 


__  !  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

evident  they  had  for  a  long  time  entertained. 
Washington  wrote  him  on  the  1st  of  July  thus: 
"  No  time  is  to  be  lost.  Much  may  be  at  stake, 
and  I  am  persuaded,  if  Gen.  Howe  is  going 
up  the  river,  he  will  make  a  rapid  and  vigorous 
push  to  gain  the  Highland  passes." 

For  a  long  time  matters  were  in  a  state  of 
perplexing  uncertainty.  It  required  all  the  vigi- 
lance, and  all  the  energy  of  a  most  skilful  and 
prudent  general,  to  guard  properly  against  rash- 
ness on  the  one  hand  and  negligence  on  the 
other.  The  season  wore  on  in  this  way,  and 
nothing  of  a  decided  character  was  undertaken 
during  the  summer.  Putnam  celebrated  the 
first  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence in  the  Highlands,  in  a  rather  novel  style. 
A  public  feast  was  made,  toasts  were  drunk, 
and  patriotic  feelings  were  appealed  to.  Guns 
were  also  fired  in  commemoration  of  so  great 
an  event,  and  just  at  sundown  a  huge  rock  was 
thrown  over  a  precipice  wiih  a  crashing  sound 
like  that  of  thunder,  into  the  wooded  valley 
helow.  The  rock  had  stood  just  on  the  edge 
of  the  precipice,  and  weighed  several  hundred 
tons 


IN  THE   HIGHLANDS.  225 

At  length  Ticonderoga  was  abandoned  to 
the  enemy;  and  then  commenced  in  good  earn- 
est the  march  of  the  British  downward  upon 
the  country  around  the  Hudson.  Putnam  was 
ordered,  on  the  receipt  of  the  news,  to  forward 
a  part  of  his  force  northward  to  the  succor  of 
Gen.  Schuyler;  and  he  also  despatched  Major 
Burr,  who  was  still  a  member  of  his  military 
staff,  into  Connecticut  to  collect  recruits  and 
send  them  on  with  all  possible  haste  to  Albany. 
Washington  had  by  this  time  moved  up  nearer 
to  the  Hudson,  on  the  Jersey  side.  Gen.  Sulli- 
van and  Lord  Stirling  were  sent  over  into  Put- 
nam's camp,  to  be  ready  to  move  either  to  the 
east  or  west,  as  circumstances  should  render 
it  necessary.  Howe  had  just  then  set  sail 
from  New  York,  and  gone  to  sea,  taking  with 
him  a  large  part  of  the  force  from  the  city. 
The  anxious  inquiry  therefore  was,  Where  had 
he  gone  ?  It  might  be  to  Philadelphia,  —  and  it 
might  be  to  Boston.  And  it  was  necessary  to 
keep  the  troops  in  readiness  to  repel  his  attack 
upon  either  place.  Howe  had  sent  a  letter  to 
Burgoyne  by  a  young  American,  which  he  no 
doubt  intended  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 


226  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Gen.  Putnam.  The  letter  spoke  of  the  fleet's 

being  about  to  sail  for  "B n,"  evidently 

meaning  Boston.  Washington  got  the  letter 
from  Putnam,  and  felt  all  the  more  sure  that 
ihc  whole  was  only  meant  to  deceive  him;  he 
was  confident  now,  that  the  enemy  had  sailed 
from  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
Philadelphia.  And  he  made  ready  to  march 
with  his  forces  at  once  in  that  direction. 

The  fleet  made  its  appearance  off  the  Dela- 
ware cape,  sure  enough,  and  Washington  sent 
orders  across  the  Hudson  to  Gen.  Putnam  to 
forward  even  more  troops  than  was  before  ar- 
ranged for,  which  now  left  his  post  in  a  very 
precarious  condition.  But  on  the  very  next  day 
the  troops  were  sent  back  again,  the  enemy 
having  opened  a  new  game  by  which  to  deceive 
the  American  Commander,  and  keep  him  in 
continual  suspense.  And  in  this  way  the  sultry 
season  was  passed,  the  troops  marching  this 
way  and  that  about  the  country,'  and  wearying 
themselves  down  as  much  with  the  fatigue  as 
they  could  have  done  in  the  same  time  with 
active  and  constant  service. 

It  was   early  in   the   month   of   August   that 


ITTNAM    A.VMVEUING   CLINTON'S   MESSAGE. 


IS    THE   HIGHLANDS.  227 

one  Edmund  Palmer,  an  officer  in  a  company 
of  tories,  was  caught  within  the  American  lines 
as  a  spy,  and  carried  before  Gen.  Putnam.  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  who  commanded  at  New  York 
city,  at  once  heard  of  Palmer's  arrest,  and  sent 
a  vessel  up  the  river  with  a  flag  of  truce,  to 
demand  his  person  as  an  officer  in  the  English 
service.  A  boat  landed  from  the  vessel,  a 
messenger  leaped  on  shore,  and  came  into  the 
camp  and  delivered  Clinton's  message.  Clin- 
ton threatened,  if  the  spy  was  not  given  up,  to 
visit  the  Americans  with  speedy  vengeance. 
Putnam  did  not  hesitate  a  moment,  but  sat 
down  to  his  table,  and  instantly  wrote  the 
following  reply  to  Clinton's  haughty  message : 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  AUGUST  7,  1777. 
"Edmund  Palmer,  an  officer  in  the  enemy's 
service,  was  taken  as  a  spy  lurking  within  our 
lines;  he  has  been  tried  as  a  spy,  condemned  as 
a  spy,  and  shall  be  executed  as  a  spy,  and  the 
flag  is  ordered  to  depart  immediately. 

"ISRAEL  PUTNAM." 

"P.  S.  He  has  been  accordingly  executed." 
The  oak  tree  was  standing  not  many  years 


228  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

ago,  at  Peekskill,  from  one  of  the  branches  of 
which  the  tory  spy  met  his  fate. 

Undoubtedly  Clinton  had  sent  out  Palmer  to 
obtain  information  respecting  the  strength  of  Put- 
nam's position.  This  more  than  ever  led  to  the 
belief  that  it  was  his  intention  to  cut  his  way 
through  the  Highland  passes,  and  join  his  forces 
with  those  of  Burgoyne.  General  Putnam's  camp 
was,  as  already  mentioned,  in  the  village  of  Peeks- 
kill,  which  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson.  On 
the  western  side,  and  a  few  miles  above,  were 
Forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery,  separated  by  a 
narrow  stream,  but  forming  substantially,  how- 
ever, a  single  fortification.  They  were  planted 
on  very  high  hills,  inaccessible  on  the  river  side, 
and  reported  by  those  who  selected  the  position 
to  be  almost  impossible  for  an  enemy  to  reach  in 
their  rear.  General  George  Clinton,  who  was  at 
the  time  Governor  of  New  York,  commanded 
them  in  person,  having  about  six  hundred  of  the 
militia  of  the  State  under  him.  Fort  Indepen- 
dence was  on  the  eastern  side,  some  three  miles 
below  these,  while  Fort  Constitution  was  built  on 
an  island  near  the  same  shore  of  the  river,  and 
about  nine  miles  above  Fort  Independence.  Put- 


IN   THE   HIGHLANDS.  229 

nam  had  command  of  the  whole  of  this  region, 
with  its  fortifications,  and  it  was  his  single  task 
to  see  that  the  British  from  below  did  not  force  a 
passage  through,  and  thus  unite  with  the  army  of 
Burgoyne  which  was  working  clown  from  above. 

At  this  time  the  General  formed  the  bold  design 
of  making  a  sudden  descent  upon  the  British  at 
Staten  Island,  Jersey  City,  York  Island  and  Long 
Island.  He  was  well  informed  of  the  enemy's 
strength  at  all  these  places,  and  felt  sure  of  strik- 
ing them  a  staggering  blow.  This  design  was  to 
be  carried  out  in  the  month  of  September.  But 
"Washington  was  obliged  to  draw  away  so  large 
a  part  of  his  soldiery,  that  for  the  present  Putnam 
reluctantly  gave  over  the  execution  of  his  plan. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  then  took  advantage  of  the 
existing  state  of  affairs  to  send  two  thousand  men, 
in  four  different  divisions,  into  New  Jersey,  for 
the  purpose  of  committing  depredations.  -  Wash- 
ington was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia, 
and  Putnam  had  not  men  enough  to  offer  them 
any  opposition  ;  and  thus  the  country  lay  entirely 
open  to  their  ravages.  The  foraging  parties  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  off  large  numbers  of  cattle,  wilh 
which  they  returned  in  safety  to  Xe\v  York.  Put- 

20 


230  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

nam  did  send  Gen.  McDougall  in  pursuit  of  them, 
as  soon  as  he  heard  of  their  conduct;  but  he 
reached  the  scene  of  the  troubles  too  late  to  pro- 
tect any  part  of  the  country  from  the  effects  of 
their  thieving  incursion. 

On  the  28d  of  September,  Washington  made 
a  still  larger  draft  on  Putnam's  force,  which  now 
reduced  his  command  to  something  more  than  a 
thousand  reliable  men.  With  these  alone  he  was 
expected  to  hold  his  own  position  in  the  High- 
lands. The  aid  he  looked  for  from  the  militia  of 
the  country  round  about,  amounted  to  hardly 
more  than  nothing. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  aware  how  greatly  1his 
force  had  been  thus  reduced,  and  resolved  to  take 
advantage  of  it.  Accordingly  he  embarked  with 
nearly  four  thousand  troops  on  the  river,  and 
reached  Tarrytown  on  the  5th  of  October.  The 
reader  will  see  what  an  excessive  amount  of  ex- 
ertion Putnam  was  now  obliged  to  put  forth,  in 
order  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  and  prevent  the 
contemplated  union  of  the  army  below  with  the 
army  above.  In  the  first  place,  all  the  troops  he 
had  would  not  number  more  than  half  what  the 
BritLsh  numbered ;  and  these  were  divided  up  at 


IN   THE   HIGHLANDS.  231 

four  different  points,  —  the  two  forts  on  the  west- 
ern bank  of  the  river,  and  the  two  on  the  eastern. 
Besides  these,  he  must  also  keep  his  position  at 
Peekskill.  Clinton  landed  at  Tarrytown,  and 
marched  up  about  five  miles  into  the  country. 
Tarrytown  is  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  with 
Peekskill,  where  lay  his  carnp. 

The  object  of  Clinton  was  merely  to  mislead 
the  American  general ;  for  on  the  same  night  he 
quietly  marched  his  men  back  to  Tarrytown,  and 
the  next  morning  passed  up  the  river  again  and 
landed  at  Verplanck's  Point,  which  is  only 
three  miles  below  Peekskill.  Upon  seeing  their 
approach,  Putnam  fell  back  upon  the  heights  in 
his  rear,  which  he  had  fortified  against  such  an 
emergency.  It  was  then  supposed,  of  course,  that 
the  British  commander  was  directing  his  attack 
against  Fort  Independence,  just  above  Putnam's 
camp ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  his  eye  fixed  all 
the  time  on  Forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery,  some 
six  miles  above  Fort  Independence,  on  the  other 
side.  On  that  same  evening,  therefore,  the  British 
fleet  moved  up  nearer  Peekskill ;  while  a  force  of 
two  thousand  men  dropped  down  the  river,  landed 
at  Stony  Point — which  is  over  against  Verplanck's 


232  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

Point,  —  and  struck  off  through  the  mountainous 
country  early  the  next  morning  to  gain  the  rear 
of  Forts  Clinton  and  Montgomery.  They  were 
observed  from  the  western  side  of  the  river,  but  a 
dense  fog  and  the  interposition  of  the  mountains 
shut  them  out  from  view  soon  after,  and  no  such 
suspicion  existed  as  that  they  had  a  thought  of 
making  a  circuit  around  the  difficult  hills  of  the 
country.  Besides,  their  boats  still  appeared  to  be 
at  Verplanck's  Point,  and  their  vessels  were  at 
Peekskill  neck. 

While  this  detachment  of  the  enemy  were  thus 
pushing  on  to  the  rear  of  the  fortresses  in  ques- 
tion, Putnam  took  a  couple  of  general  officers  with 
him,  and  went  down  Towards  the  river  to  recon- 
noitre. Those  who  had  seen  the  enemy  on  the 
other  side  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morning,  sup- 
posed that  they  must  have  returned  to  their  station 
at  Verplanck's  Point,  inasmuch  as  nothing  had 
since  been  seen  of  them.  But  by  this  time  they 
were  well  on  their  way  to  the  twin  Forts  which 
they  had  resolved  to  assail.  They  were  formed 
into  two  divisions;  one  advanced  through  the 
forests  and  ravines,  surmounting  the  innumerable 
obstacles  that  lay  in  their  way,  intending  to  fall 


IN  THE  HIGHLANDS.  233 

upon  Fort  Montgomery;  the  other,  which  Clinton 
himself  conducted,  hurried  round  to  gain  the  rear 
of  Fort  Clinton.  The  plan  was,  to  commence  the 
assa7ilt  at  the  same  moment.  At  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  it  began.  This  was  on 
Monday.  Several  skirmishes  had  been  had  with 
the  outposts  before  the  two  hostile  parties  reached 
the  forts,  but  the  Americans  were  driven  back  into 
the  fortifications  every  time.  For  three  hours  the 
assault  was  kept  up,  with  no  abatement  in  its 
fury.  It  was  like  the  dashing  of  a  sudden  and 
powerful  storm.  The  British  commander  sent  a 
flag,  demanding  a  surrender,  after  the  fight  had 
been  going  on  for  a  couple  of  hours ;  but  as  the 
Americans  refused  to  yield,  the  attack  was  re- 
newed with  increased  vigor.  A  messenger  had 
been  sent  to  Putnam's  camp,  in  the  meanwhile, 
to  ask  for  assistance ;  but  there  was  some  treach- 
erous conduct  in  the  matter,  and  the  message 
never  was  delivered  at  head  quarters.  Putnam 
knew  nothing  of  what  was  going  on,  until  he  had 
started  on  his  return  from  reconnoitring  the  enemy 
at  Verplanck's  Point;  the  firing  up  the  river  had 
been  heard  at  Peekskill,  and  word  was  brought 
down  with  all  possible  despatch.  He  hurried 

20* 


234  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

back  to  camp  and  sent  five  hundred  men  up  the 
river  in  great  haste.  They  had  five  miles  to  march 
before  they  reached  the  point  at  which  they  were 
to  cross,  and  by  the  time  they  came  to  that,  the 
action  was  all  over.  The  news  came  that  the 
Americans  were  obliged  to  relinquish  their  posi- 
tion, and,  under  cover  of  dusk,  they  made  good 
their  retreat  from  the  forts.  The  contest  was 
most  severe  and  bloody,  more  than  one  third  of 
the  Americans  within  the  two  forts  having  fallen 
victims. 

It  was  midnight  when  Governor  Clinton  reached 
Peekskill  in  his  retreat;  and  at  a  hasty  conference 
of  the  superior  officers,  it  was  thought  worse  than 
useless  to  try  to  hold  that  post  any  longer.  Put- 
nam therefore  ordered  his  men  to  march  without 
any  delay ;  and,  the  stores  having  been  first  with- 
drawn, they  set  out  for  Fishkill,  some  twelve  miles 
distant  by  the  road.  The  two  vessels  were  burned 
that  had  been  stationed  to  defend  the  cable  thrown 
across  the  river,  lest  they  should  fall  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  The  British  followed  up  their 
advantages  without  delay,  destroying  several 
buildings  in  and  around  Peekskill,  sailing  farther 
up  the  river  and  committing  ravages  at  Esopus, 


IN  THE  HIGHLANDS.  235 

a  village  just  below  Kingston  on  the  western 
shore,  burning  stores,  mills,  and  dwelling-houses 
without  the  least  compunction,  and  exhibiting 
traits  of  barbaric  wantonness  that  would  ill  be- 
come outright  savages.  This  conduct  of  itself 
aroused  a  feeling  in  that  locality  against  the  Brit- 
ish, which  tended  more  than  anything  to  place 
still  farther  off  their  prospects  of  final  success. 
These  wanton  and  cruel  acts  were  quite  in  keep- 
ing with  their  treatment  of  the  wounded  and 
dying  Americans  at  Fort  Montgomery.  They 
bestowed  upon  their  own  dead,  after  the  battle 
was  over,  a  decent  burial ;  but  threw  the  bodies 
of  the  vanquished  in  piles  into  a  pool  not  far  from 
the  fort,  where  they  were  left  exposed  to  the  ele- 
ments. Dr.  Dwight,  who  visited  the  place  about 
seven  months  afterwards,  in  the  month  of  May, 
describes  the  scene  that  presented  itself,  in  the 
following  style:  — 

"  The  first  object  which  met  our  eyes,  after  we 
had  left  our  barge  and  ascended  the  bank,  was  the 
remains  of  a  fire,  kindled  by  the  cottagers  of  this 
solitude,  for  the  purpose  of  consuming  the  bones 
of  some  of  the  Americans  who  had  fallen  at  this 
place,  and  had  been  left  unburied.  Some  of  these 


236  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

bones  were  lying,  partially  consumed,  round  the 
spot  where  the  fire  had  been  kindled;  and  some 
had  evidently  been  converted  to  ashes.  As  we 
went  onward,  we  were  distressed  by  the  factor  of 
decayed  human  bodies.  As  we  were  attempting 
to  discover  the  source  from  which  it  proceeded, 
we  found,  at  a  small  distance  from  Fort  Mont- 
gomery, a  pond  of  a  moderate  size,  in  which  we 
saw  bodies  of  several  men,  wrho  had  been  killed 
in  the  assault  upon  the  fort.  They  were  thrown 
into  this  pond,  the  preceding  autumn,  by  the  Brit- 
ish, when,  probably,  the  water  was  sufficiently 
deep  to  cover  them.  Some  of  them  were  covered 
at  this  time ;  but  at  a  depth  so  small,  as  to  leave 
them  distinctly  visible.  Others  had  an  arm,  a 
leg,  or  a  part  of  the  body,  above  the  surface. 
The  clothes  which  they  wore  when  they  were 
killed,  were  still  on  them,  and  proved  that  they 
were  militia,  being  the  ordinary  dress  of  farmers." 
The  British  were  on  thrir  \v;iy  up  to  meet  Bur- 
goyne,  inflated  with  high  hopes,  and  drunk  with 
their  grand  expectations ;  but  suddenly  there  fell 
a  blow  upon  those  hopes,  which  destroyed  them 
every  one.  The  news  met  them  that  Burgoyne 
had  surrendered  to  General  Gates !  It  was  use- 


IN  THE  HIGHLANDS.  237 

less  to  go  farther.  They  turned  their  faces  about 
without  hesitation,  and,  taking  to  their  vessels  in 
the  river,  —  after  having  first  been  at  the  pains  to 
demolish  two  of  the  deserted  American  forts,  — 
sailed  down  to  New  York.  Putnam  left  Fish- 
kili  upon  this,  and  took  up  his  former  station  at 
Peekskill.  He  had  the  great  misfortune  to  lose 
his  wife  while  at  the  former  place,  in  reference  to 
which  General  Washington  soon  afterwards  wrote 
him,  —  "I  am  extremely  sorry  for  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Putnam,  and  sympathize  with  you  upon  the 
occasion.  Remembering  that  all  must  die,  and 
that  she  had  lived  to  an  honorable  age,  I  hope  you 
will  bear  the  misfortune  with  that  fortitude  and 
complacency  of  mind  that  become  a  man  and  a 
Christian." 

It  is  said  that  Dr.  Dwight  —  then  an  army  chap- 
lain, and  afterwards  President  of  Yale  College, 
—  preached  a  sermon  to  the  army  on  the  Sunday 
following  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  taking  his 
text  from  Joel,  2  :  20,  as  follows:  — "  I  will  remove 
far  off  from  you  the  northern  army."  All  the 
officers  were  delighted  with  it,  and  General  Put- 
nam as  a  matter  of  course.  The  General  walked 
along  with  the  young  chaplain,  after  service  was 


238  <;i:x.  TSRAKI,  ITTXAM. 

over,  and  desired  to  know  where  he  got  his  text; 
"  for,"  said  he,  "  I  do  n't  believe  there  is  any  such 
text  in  the  Bible."  Dwight  only  satisfied  him  that 
there  was  such  a  text  there,  by  producing  the  book 
and  pointing  it  out  to  him.  Putnam  declared 
that  there  was  everything  in  that  book,  and  Dwight 
knew  just  where  to  put  his  finger  upon  it! 

After  Burgoyne's  defeat,  drafts  were  made  upon 
the  northern  army  to  increase  the  force  of  Gen- 
eral Putnam,  until  in  a  short  time  he  had  nine 
thousand  men  under  his  command.  With  this 
large  body  at  his  disposal,  he  had  planned  an 
enterprise  against  the  enemy  below  at  several 
points,  of  whose  success  he  was  very  sanguine. 
But  the  British  under  General  Howe  were  already 
in  possession  of  Philadelphia,  and  their  fleet  was 
seeking  a  communication  with  that  city  to  carry 
them  supplies.  To  this  plan  Washington  wished 
to  put  a  stop.  For  this  purpose  he  sent  Col. 
Alexander  Hamilton  to  Putnam's  camp,  with 
orders  to  forward  him  without  delay,  three  brig- 
ades. Hamilton  then  hurried  on  to  Albany  to 
confer  with  General  Gates.  In  a  week  he  returned; 
and  finding  that  Putnam  had  not  forwarded  the 
troops  as  directed,  sent  an  order  couched  in 


IN  THE   HIGHLANDS.  239 

terms  of  the  most  severe  reprimand.  He  also 
wrote  a  despatch  to  Washington  in  relation  to 
Putnam's  neglect  of  his  orders,  in  which  he  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  the  old  General  ought  to 
be  displaced.  His  language,  in  the  letter  he 
addressed  to  General  Putnam,  was  harsh  in  the 
extreme.  Yet  he  excuses  it  on  account  of  the 
depth  of  his  feelings.  He  said  that  he  trembled 
lest  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with  his  fleet  had  already 
reached  Howe  at  Philadelphia,  and  that  all  was 
lost. 

Putnam  at  once  sent  Hamilton's  letter  on  to 
the  Commander-in-chief,  and  complained  of  its 
temper  and  imputations  upon  him ;  he  said  that 
without  the  most  direct  and  positive  orders  from 
his  commander,  he  could  not  think  of  such  a  thing 
as  sending  away  the  body  of  the  force  which  was 
all  he  had  to  rely  upon.  But  Washington  ap- 
proved the  order  which  had  been  issued  to  the 
General,  and  expressed  himself  dissatisfied  with 
his  neglect  to  obey  the  same.  For  the  first  time 
since  he  had  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a  soldier, 
had  he  thus  received  the  censure,  whether  deserved 
or  not,  of  his  superior  officer.  There  is  much  to 
be  said  in  explanation  of  his  conduct,  and  to  say 


240  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

that  does  but  divide  the  responsibility  among  those 
on  whom  it  should  properly  rest.  Washington 
was  unacquainted  with  the  exact,  state  of  matters 
in  the  highlands,  just  at  that  time ;  there  was  a 
mutinous  spirit  among  a  large  portion  of  the 
troops,  who  threatened  to  desert  altogether  unless 
they  could  be  paid;  and  this  Hamilton  himself 
knew;  and  Hamilton  was  evidently  hasty,  if  not 
impetuous,  and  used  language,  for  a  young  man 
of  twenty,  in  his  letter,  such  as  no  man  of  his 
years  should  employ  towards  a  scarred  veteran  of 
sixty. 

The  order  of  Washington  having  finally  been 
complied  with,  General  Putnam  took  a  part  of 
his  remaining  force  and  moved  down  the  river. 
General  Dickinson  made  a  sudden  descent  on 
Staten  Island,  on  the  27th  of  November,  with 
fourteen  hundred  men ;  and  simultaneously  with 
this  movement  General  Putnam  ordered  a  diver- 
sion upon  King's  bridge,  that  the  enemy  might  not 
suspect  his  stratagem ;  but  by  some  means  they 
received  intelligence  of  his  design,  and  were  en- 
abled to  make  good  their  escape. 

Next  he  proceeded  to  New  Rocbelle,  and  at  this 
point  got  things  in  readiness  to  cross  the  Sound 


IN   THE  HIGHLANDS.  241 

in  open  boats  and  surprise  the  enemy  at  Hunt- 
ington  and  Satauket ;  but  this  design  was  pene- 
trated by  the  British  in  time  to  permit  them  to 
vacate  the  forts  and  betake  themselves  to  a  place  of 
safety.  Then  he  projected  an  enterprise  against 
Long  Island  to  destroy  large  quantities  of  lumber 
that  had  been  collected  at  several  points  by  the 
British,  for  constructing  barracks  in  New  York,  — 
to  fire  several  coasting  vessels  that  were  loaded  with 
wood  for  the  British  army  then  in  possession  of 
Newport,  in  Rhode  Island, — to  capturewhat  public 
stores  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and  to  attack  a 
regiment  stationed  near  Jamaica.  The  whole  ex- 
pedition was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  placed 
under  the  direction  of  as  many  commanders.  This 
expedition  also  turned  out  unfortunately,  only  one 
sloop  having  been  destroyed,  together  with  a 
quantity  of  timber.  One  of  the  commanders  was 
taken  a  prisoner,  together  with  the  whole  of  his 
party,  amounting  to  sixty-five  men. 

Governor  Tryon,  whose  talent  seemed  to  con- 
sist in  destroying,  and  whose  name  will  forever 
be  associated  in  the  mind  of  the  people  of  west- 
ern Connecticut  with  acts  of  incendiarism  and 
wantonness,  had  been  sending  out  parties  quite 

21 


242  GEN.  ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

freely  to  commit  such  depredations  as  they  had  an 
inclination  to.  Putnam  found  that  the  only  way 
to  put  a  stop  to  this  conduct,  was  by  acts  of  re- 
taliation. Accordingly  he  despatched  bodies  of 
men  in  this  direction  and  that,  wherever  it  was 
possible  to  surprise  the  enemy's  officers  in  their 
position.  On  one  of  these  marauding  excursions 
the  Americans  having  learned  that  a  noted  tory 
named  Colonel  James  Delancy  was  at  the  village 
of  West  Farms,  a  little  below  Westchester,  they 
stealthily  approached  and  surrounded  the  house  in 
the  night,  and  then  hurried  in  to  ransack  it  for 
their  prisoner.  Delancy  was  in  bed,  and  heard 
them  coming.  Not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  he 
bounded  out  and  crept  underneath  with  all  pos- 
sible agility.  But  the  warm  bed  he  had  just  left 
testified  to  his  presence;  and  after  searching  care- 
fully all  about  the  room,  they  at  last  discovered  him 
in  his  novel  hiding  place,  and  proceeded  to  draw 
him  forth  in  triumph  to  public  view.  It  was  not 
a  very  dignified  or  brave  position  for  a  Colonel  to 
be  found  in,  but  there  he  was.  They  bore  him 
away  to  head-quarters,  a  prisoner.  Clinton  found 
the  means  to  procure  his  release  before  long,  by 
proposing  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  He  after- 


DELANCY   DRAWN    FROM   HIS   HIDING    PLACE 


IN  THE  HIGHLANDS.  243 

wards  earned  a  name  of  perpetual  infamy,  by 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  those  thieving  and 
lawless  barbarians  known  by  the  name  of  Cow 
Boys,  that  infested  the  neutral  district  between 
the  lines  of  the  two  armies.  The  novelist  Cooper 
has  done  full  justice  to  the  vile  character  of  those 
uncivilized  creatures,  who  lived  by  preying  even 
on  their  own  friends  and  relatives,  in  his  novel 
entitled  "  The  Spy."  They  formed  a  class  of 
men,  the  like  of  whom  it  would  be  impossible  to 
find  anywhere  else  in  all  our  history  as  a  country. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

PUTNAM  AT  WEST  POINT  AND  DANBURT. 

IN  the  middle  of  December,  Gen.  Putnam 
went  into  winter  quarters  in  the  Highlands. 
The  work  to  which  he  was  now  to  give 
his  attention,  was  the  perfection  of  the  defences 
of  the  river.  It  was  early  in  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1778,  when  a  party,  among  whom  were 
Governor  George  Clinton  and  Colonel  Radiere, 
a  French  engineer,  made  an  actual  survey  of 
the  region,  for  the  purpose  of  deciding  the  best 
point  at  which  a  strong  fortification  should  be 
erected.  West  Point  was  finally  decided  on, 
though  not  without  the  opposition  of  Radiere 
and  after  an  examination  of  the  place  by  a 
committee  of  the  New  York  Legislature.  The 
French  engineer  displayed  considerable  petu- 
lance at  the  final  decision,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  gave  place  to  the  celebrated  Polish 


PUTNAM   AT   WEST   POINT  AND   DANBURY.        245 

exile  Kosciusko;  when  the  plans  were  carried 
forward  with  energy  and  rapidity.  To  Gen. 
Putnam  alone  his  early  friend  and  biographer, 
Col.  Humphreys,  awards  the  credit  of  this  most 
sagacious  selection.  General  Parsons  was  sent 
across  the  river  to  break  ground  when-  the  snow 
j^y  two  feet  deep.  Considering  how  poorly  fed 
and  clad  the  soldiers  were  at  this  time,  how 
pinching  was  the  cold,  and  what  a  miserable 
pittance  was  doled  out  to  them  from  time  to 
time  for  their  services,  it  seems  truly  wonderful 
what  kept  them  together  at  all ;  much  more, 
what  motive  could  be  strong  enough  to  excite 
their  energies  in  such  an  undertaking  at  such  an 
inclement  season.  Putnam's  own  description  of 
the  condition  of  his  men,  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Washington,  is  well  worth  quoting  from  :  "  Du- 
blois'  regiment  is  unfit  to  be  ordered  on  duty, 
there  being  not  one  blanket  in  the  regiment. 
Very  few  have  either  a  shoe  or  a  shirt,  and  most 
of  them  have  neither  stockings,  breeches,  nor 
overalls.  Several  companies  of  enlisted  artificers 
are  jn  the  same  situation,  and  unable  to  work 
in  the  field. "  This  was  the  same  long  and 
dreary  winter  which  Washington  passed  with 
21* 


240  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

his  shoeless  and  almost  starving  army  at  Valley 
Forge.  It  was  in  truth,  the  darkest  period  in 
our  Revolutionary  history.  Washington  wrote 
to  Congress  that  he  had  with  him  at  Valley 
Forge  "no  less  than  two  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight  men  in  camp  unfit  for 
duty,  because  they  were  barefoot  and  othe& 
wise  naked" 

In  the  month  of  November  previous,  Con- 
gress had  directed  that  the  loss  of  the  Forts 
Clinton  and  Montgomery  should  be  duly  in- 
vestigated by  a  court  of  inquiry,  which  was 
composed  of  three  of  the  leading  officers  of 
the  army.  Putnam  had  gone  home  to  Con- 
necticut, about  the  middle  of  February,  to  take 
care  of  his  private  affairs,  which  sadly  needed 
his  personal  attention ;  but  as  soon  as  he  re- 
turned, the  investigation  took  place.  It  is  a 
very  common  method,  according  to  strict  mili- 
tary discipline,  of  getting  at  the  real  facts  of 
a  great  mistake  or  misfortune,  or  of  a  piece  of 
misconduct  on  the  part  of  a  general  officer ; 
but  nothing  in  the  present  case  was  charged 
against  Gen.  Putnam  by  the  court,  nor  against 
any  one  else  concerned.  Of  course,  while  the 


PUTNAM  AT   WEST   POINT  AND   DANBURY.        247 

investigation  was  going  on,  Gen.  Putnam  was 
deposed  from  his  command,  as  was  customary 
and  proper ;  and  that  command  he  was  not 
permitted  again  to  resume.  The  court  found 
that  the  two  forts  were  lost  on  account  of  a 
lack  of  men,  and  not  from  any  fault  of  the 
commanders.  Washington  sent  to  Putnam, 
upon  this,  directions  to  return  once  more  to 
Connecticut,  and  hurry  forward  the  fresh  troops 
which  that  State  proposed  to  raise  for  the  com- 
ing campaign,  —  that  of  the  year  1778. 

The  news  came  about  the  first  of  May,  that 
France  had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  United 
States,  and  Washington  and  all  the  rest  began 
to  feel  greatly  encouraged.  He  even  thought 
that  the  campaign  of  that  year  would  termi- 
nate the  struggle  altogether.  He  wrote  on  to 
Putnam,  "  I  hope  that  the  fair,  and,  I  may  say, 
certain  prospect  of  success  will  not  induce  us 
to  relax." 

Directly  after  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  Gen. 
Putnam  left  Connecticut  to  take  command  of 
the  right  wing  of  the  army.  Nothing  had  yet 
been  accomplished,  with  the  exception  of  this 
single  brilliant  action,  and  the  summer  wore 


248  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

away  with  a  series  of  aimless  marches  this 
way  and  that,  which  almost  wore  out  what 
patience  remained  to  the  army.  The  British 
at  length  —  in  September  —  gave  the  Ameri- 
can Commander  the  idea  that  they  were  about 
to  embark  from  New  York  on  an  expedition  to 
Boston.  As  France  had  then  openly  taken 
sides  with  us,  a  large  French  fleet  lay  near 
Boston  and  along  the  coast,  which  it  was 
thought  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  eager  to  at- 
tack. The  entire  eastern  army  was  therefore 
so  disposed  as  to  be  ready  to  go  to  the  imme- 
diate aid  of  the  East,  in  case  of  an  invasion, 
and  also  to  hold  and  defend  the  important 
posts  already  in  their  hands,  in  and  around 
the  Highlands.  Putnam  was  put  in  command 
of  two  brigades  not  far  from  West  Point,  while 
Generals  McDougall  and  Gates  were  stationed 
at  Danbury,  to  protect  the  line  of  country 
bordering  on  Long  Island  Sound.  Two  months 
passed  by,  and  si  ill  nothing  was  done.  The 
army  was  therefore  ordered  into  winter  quarters 
early  in  the  month  of  November. 

(irneral  Putnam   was  ordered,  this  winter,  to 
quarter  with   his  command  near  Danbury.     He 


PUTNAM   AT   WEST  POINT   AND   DANBURY.      249 

had  three  brigades  under  him,  made  up  of 
troops  from  Connecticut  and  New  Hampshire. 
Hazen's  corps  of  infantry,  and  Sheldon's  corps 
of  cavalry.  In  this  position  he  was  ready  at 
hand  to  assist  either  in  the  defences  of  the 
Highlands,  or  to  repel  any  assaults  that  might 
be  offered  by  parties  of  the  enemy  upon  the 
magazines  along  the  Connecticut  river,  or  the 
dwellings  and  stores  on  the  line  of  the  Sound 
shore. 

The  troops  were  but  poorly  paid  at  this 
time,  and  there  was  a  great  deal  of  complaint 
amongst  them.  Nor  was  it  without  reason. 
They  saw  the  day  of  payment  no  nearer  at 
hand  than  it  had  ever  been.  They  were  put 
off,  and  put  off,  with  promises  continually.  It 
was  cold  weather,  pinching  and  bitter ;  and 
poorly  clad  and  illy  fed  as  they  were,  their 
prospects  brightening  at  no  turn,  it  is  nothing 
to  wonder  at  that  they  should  begin  to  feel 
discouraged.  The  first  evidence  which  Gen. 
Putnam  had  of  the  existence  of  such  a  feeling, 
was  on  finding  that  insubordination  was  act- 
ually beginning  to  manifest  itself.  The  old 
General  himself  quartered  at  a  farm  house  in 


250  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUT .V .AM. 

Reading,  but  a  short  distance  from  Danbury, 
and  he  was  there  when  the  news  of  the  out- 
break first  reached  him. 

The  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  was 
in  session  at  the  time,  in  Hartford ;  and  the 
troops  had,  two  brigades  of  them,  resolved  to 
form  in  military  line  and  march  to  Hartford  to 
demand  the  money  which  they  began  to  think 
was  wrongfully  kept  back  from  them.  These 
two  brigades  were  Connecticut  troops,  and  had 
a  perfect  right  to  demand  their  pay  from  the 
legislature  of  that  State.  The  other  troops  did 
not  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the  Legis- 
lature. When  word  was  brought  to  Gen  Put- 
nam of  the  breaking  out  of  the  trouble,  one 
brigade  was  then  under  arms  and  all  ready 
to  proceed  to  Hartford.  He  lost  no  time  in 
making  up  his  mind  what  to  do,  as  he  never 
did ;  but  instantly  springing  upon  his  horse,  he 
galloped  away  to  the  scene  of  the  difficulties. 
Riding  up  to  the  head  of  the  column,  he  at 
once  appealed  to  their  respect  and  affection 
for  their  veteran  commander,  and  harangued 
them  in  a  loud  voice  and  with  a  great  deal 
of  feeling.  Said  he  to  them,  while  he  still  sat 


PUTNAM  AT   WEST   POINT   AND   DANBURY.      251 

on  his 'horse, — "My  brave  lads,  whither  are  you 
going  ?  Do  you  intend  to  desert  your  offi- 
cers, and  to  invite  the  enemy  to  follow  you 
into  the  country  ?  In  whose  cause  have  you 
been  fighting  and  suffering  so  long  ?  Is  it  not 
your  own  ?  Have  you  no  property  ?  no  par- 
ents ?  no  wives  ?  no  children  ?  You  have  thus 
far  behaved  like  men ;  the  world  is  full  of  your 
praises ;  and  posterity  will  stand  astonished 
at  your  deeds :  —  but  not  if  you  spoil  it  all  at 
last.  Don't  you  consider  how  much  the  coun- 
try is  distressed  by  the  war,  and  that  your 
officers  have  not  been  any  better  paid  than  your- 
selves ?  But  we  all  expect  better  times,  and 
then  the  country  will  do  us  ample  justice.  Let 
us  all  stand  by  one  another,  then,  and  fight  it 
out  like  brave  soldiers!  Think  what  a  shame 
it  would  be  for  Connecticut  men  to  run  away 
from  their  officers !  " 

An  appeal  like  this,  coming  from  the  man 
they  all  loved  and  respected  so  much,  could  not 
go  without  its  effect.  The  dissatisfied  troops 
softened  in  a  moment,  and  testified  to  their 
suddenly  changed  feelings  by  offering  the  cus- 
tomary military  salute  as  their  General  rode 


252  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

slowly  down  the  line  ;  they  presented  *  arms, 
and  the  drum  began  again  to  beat.  The  Brig- 
ade Major  then  gave  the  order  to  shoulder  arms, 
which  they  promptly  obeyed ;  and  then  marched 
away  to  their  parade  ground  and  stacked  their 
arms  without  the  least  show  of  further  dissatis- 
faction. The  rough  but  honest  old  soldier  who 
was  at  their  head,  exerted  such  a  strong  and 
immediate  influence  over  them,  that  they  were 
convinced  that  he  was  in  the  right,  and  they 
were  altogether  in  the  wrong. 

A  single  soldier  who  was  engaged  in  the 
mutiny,  it  was  found  necessary  to  confine  in 
the  guard-house,  and  during  the  night  he  at- 
tempted to  make  his  escape ;  but  he  was  shot 
dead  by  the  sentinel,  who  had  himself  been 
concerned  in  the  mutiny  of  the  day  before.  A 
couple  of  soldiers  were  also  executed  on  Gal- 
lows Hill,  about  a  mile  from  the  head  quarters 
of  Putnam ;  one  was  shot  for  desertion,  and 
one  was  hung  for  being  taken  as  a  spy.  The 
latter  was  a  tory.  He  was  compelled  to  as- 
cend a  ladder  to  a  height  of  some  twenty  feet, 
with  the  rope  around  his  neck,  and  then  told  to 
jump  off.  This  he  refused  to  do.  The  lad- 


1UTNAM   AT   WEST  POINT  AND  DANBURY.      253 

der  had  to  be  turned  over  by  those  below,  so 
as  to  throw  him  off  and  leave  him  swinging 
in  the  air.  The  other  —  the  deserter — was  a 
mere  youth,  not  more  than  seventeen  years 
old  ;  and  it  is  related  that  terrible  work  was 
made  at  his  execution. 

The  enemy,  this  winter,  under  the  well  known 
Governor  Tryon,  made  a  descent  upon  the  towns 
and  villages  along  the  Sound,  carrying  their  in- 
cursions also  as  far  into  the  interior  as  they 
judged  it  prudent  to  go.  They  laid  waste  and 
destroyed  wherever  they  went.  They  set  fire  to 
public  buildings  and  private  dwellings  with  per- 
fect impunity,  and  witnessed  the  devastations 
they  created  with  evident  satisfaction. 

Tryon  marched  with  a  detachment  of  fifteen 
hundred  men  from  King's  bridge  over  to  Horse- 
neck,  or  what  is  now  known  as  West  Green- 
wich. This  place  was  so  called,  because  it  was 
a  tongue,  or  neck  of  land,  running  out  into  the 
Sound  ;  and  upon  it  used  to  feed  large  quanti- 
ties of  horses,  in  the  summer  season.  Gen.  Put- 
nam was  there  at  Horseneck  himself,  with  a 
small  force  of  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  to 
oppose  the  advancing  enemy.  He  was  stationed 
22 


254  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

on  the  brow  of  a  steep  hill,  and  had  but  two 
iron  cannon  with  him,  but  without  drag-ropes  or 
horses.  He  determined,  however,  to  show  to  the 
enemy  that  he  would  not  run  as  long  as  there 
was  a  chance  to  harass  them,  or  do  them  any 
mischief. 

The  field-pieces  were  loaded  and  fired  several 
times  at  them,  as  they  came  up,  performing  con- 
siderable execution.  Resolved  to  put  a  stop  to 
such  a  proceeding  at  once,  the  British  General 
ordered  a  party  of  dragoons,  supported  by  the 
infantry,  to  charge  upon  the  cause  of  the  mis- 
chief. Seeing  what  they  were  determined  to  do, 
and  feeling  certain  that  there  was  no  use  in  try- 
ing to  oppose  his  little  handful  of  men  to  the 
large  body  of  the  enemy  at  hand,  Gen.  Putnam 
told  his  soldiers  to  retreat  at  the  top  of  their  speed 
into  a  swamp  near  by,  where  cavalry  could  not 
enter  to  molest  them.  He  then  waited  himself 
till  ihe  men  had  all  got  off  safely,  and  when 
the  dragoons  had  come  almost  within  a  sword's 
length  of  him  in  their  impetuous  chase,  he  took 
a  mad  plunge  down  the  precipice  ;  while  their 
horses  recoiled,  iind  the  riders  looked  on  with  a 
feeling  of  astonishment  that  almost  amounted 


PUTNAM   AT   WEST   POINT   AND   DANBURY.      255 

to  horror.  They  dared  not  continue  the  pur- 
suit, so  fearfully  precipitous  was  the  descent 
over  the  rocks  and  stones.  It  was  a  feat  of 
reckless  daring,  especially  for  a  man  well  along 
in  years,  that  was  quite  worthy  of  one,  who,  in 
his  younger  days,  went  down  alone  into  a  cave 
after  a  hunted  wolf  at  midnight. 

The  road  led  round  the  hill ;  but  he  was  far 
beyond  their  reach  before  they  could  recover 
themselves  sufficiently  to  set  out  after  him  by 
that  way.  They  hastily  sent  a  volley  of  bullets 
in  pursuit  of  him,  as  he  plunged  down  the  rocky 
steep ;  one  of  them  went  through  his  hat,  but 
not  a  hair  of  his  head  was  injured.  There  were 
from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  rude  stone 
steps  laid  on  this  declivity,  to  assist  the  people 
from  below  in  climbing  the  hill  to  the  ordinary 
services  on  Sunday,  at  the  church  on  the  brow 
of  the  same.  Putnam's  horse  took  him  in  a  zig- 
zag direction  down  these  steps,  and  landed  him 
safely  in  the  plain.  A  man  who  stood  not  far 
from  the  old  General,  just  as  he  wheeled  his  horse 
and  made  the  reckless  plunge,  said  that  he  was 
cursing  the  British  terribly. 

He  scoured  the  road  at  the  top  of  his  speed, 


256  GEN.   ISRAEL  tUTNAM. 

and  reached  Stamford,  a  town  about  five  miles 
distant,  in  a  very  short  time.  He  then  collected 
the  few  militia  who  were  posted  there,  and,  be- 
ing joined  also  by  some  of  his  own  men  who 
had  just  escaped,  turned  back  to  pursue  and 
harass  the  enemy.  The  latter  had  by  this  time 
succeeded  in  committing  many  acts  of  destruc- 
tion, and  were  even  then  on  their  retreat  to  Rye. 
Putnam  hung  upon  their  rear,  and  succeeded  in 
taking  thirty-eight  prisoners,  and  a  wagon-load 
of  ammunition  and  plunder  which  they  were 
carrying  off,  and  which  he  afterwards  restored 
to  their  rightful  owners.  On  the  next  day,  he 
sent  the  prisoners  all  back  to  the  British  lines, 
under  an  escort,  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging 
them  with  American  prisoners.  Gov.  Tryon 
was  so  much  pleased  with  his  humanity  and 
generosity,  that  he  sent  him  back  a  suit  of  new 
clothes,  including  a  hat  to  take  the  place  of  the 
one  which  had  been  perforated  with  the  bullet. 

As  the  Spring  opened,  the  army  moved  up 
into  the  Highlands  again,  concentrating  itself 
there  on  account  of  the  demonstrations  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton.  It  was  plainly  the  intention  of 
the  latter  to  possess  himself  of  West  Point  and 


PUTNAM  AT  WEST  POINT  AND   DANBURT.      257 

the  river.  Gen.  Putnam  held  command  at  the 
Clove,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  The  Brit- 
ish ascended  in  their  vessels,  and  captured  Stony 

?  Point ;  and  on  the  15th  of  July  it  was  recaptured 
again  by  that  daring  spirit  who  led  on  a  "  forlorn 
hope  "  in  the  darkness  and  storm  of  the  night, 
Anthony  Wayne,  or  "Mad  Anthony" — as  he 
was  called  by  the  army.  But  the  Americans 
had  to  abandon  it  finally,  and  afterwards  the 
British  abandoned,  it  still  again.  Washington 
removed  his  head-quarters  to  West  Point,  late 
in  July,  and  Putnam  took  his  post  at  Butter- 
milk Falls,  some  two  miles  below.  The  season 
was  passed  chiefly  in  strengthening  the  defences 
of  this  famous  post,  to  which  Putnam  was  no 
small  contributor.  The  year  went  by  without 
a  single  action  of  any  greater  importance  than 
that  renowned  one  of  Wayne  against  the  for- 

•:  tress  of  Stony  Point 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

HIS   LAST   DAYS. 

EARL  i  in  December,  the  American  army 
went  into  winter  quarters  at  Morristown. 
There  was  no  expedition  on  foot  just  then 
by  the  enemy,  which  required  them  to  be  late 
in  the  field.  They  had  occupied  themselves 
chiefly  in  destructive  excursions  into  the  coun- 
try, burning  and  laying  waste  wherever  they 
went.  Washington  himself  spoke  of  their  op- 
erations, in  a  letter  to  Lafayette,  as  amounting 
to  little  more  than  burning  defenceless  towns 
within  reach  of  their  own  shipping,  "  where 
little  else  was,  or  could  be  opposed  to  them, 
than  the  cries  of  distressed  women  and  helpless 
children." 

Pretty  soon  after  going  into  winter  quarters, 
Gen.  Putnam  left  the  camp  for  an  absence  of  a 
few  weeks  to  visit  his  family  in  Connecticut. 


TTTS    LAST    DAYS. 

Towards  the  last  of  t  he  month  he  started  on  his 
return,  taking  Hartford  in  his  route,  as  usual. 
He  had  travelled  on  the  road  to  Hartford,  how- 
ever, but  a  few  miles,  when  he  was  greatly  sur- 
prised to  find  that  a  sensation  of  numbness 
was  creeping  over  his  right  arm  and  leg.  Un- 
willing to  think  that  it  could  proceed  from  any 
other  cause  than  the  cold,  he  made  strenuous 
exertions  to  shake  it  off;  but  he  soon  found 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  deceive  him- 
self. The  numbness  increased,  until  it  had  got 
strong  hold  upon  the  limbs  and  one  side  of  his 
person.  He  was  obliged  to  be  removed  to  the 
house  of  a  friend,  and  even  then  he  fought  with 
all  the  native  vigor  of  his  will  against  the  un- 
pleasant truth  that  was  forcing  itself  upon  his 
mind.  But  it  was  to  no  purpose.  The  old 
gentleman  found  he  had  been  visited  with  a 
severe  shock  of  paralysis,  and  it  was  useless  to 
try  to  deny  it  any  longer. 

Henceforward,  he  must  relinquish  his  active 
connection  with  the  war  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution. It  was  a  difficult  matter  for  him  to  feel 
resigned  to  inactivity,  after  having  thrown  him- 
self with  such  ardor  into  the  cause  of  his  coun- 


260  GEN.    ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

try;  but  he  used  his  stock  of  philosophy,  and, 
as  he  always  did  in  times  of  trial  and  difficulty, 
resolved  to  make  the  best  of  it.  For  the  rest 
of  his  days,  therefore,  he  must  consent,  as  it 
were,  to  lie  on  the  shelf.  He  must  hear  the 
roar  of  the  cannon,  but  take  no  part  in  the 
battle.  It  was  a  stern  fatality,  and  one  well 
calculated  to  make  the  soul  of  any  hero  feel 
impatient 

For  more  than  eleven  years  he  was  consigned 
to  the  retirement  and  quiet  of  his  farm-life  in 
Pomfret,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  his 
days  drew  to  an  end.  He  had  not  entirely  lost 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  yet  their  strength  and  vigor 
were  so  seriously  impaired  as  to  put  physical 
labor  out  of  the  question.  He  did  not  relax 
any  of  his  early  interest  in  the  details  of  farm- 
ing, but,  with  his  sons,  carried  on  his  agricul- 
tural labors  with  his  usual  success.  There  was 
one  time,  —  about  six  months  after  his  attack 
of  paralysis,  —  when  he  entertained  the  strong- 
est hopes  of  being  able  to  rejoin  the  army ;  and 
a  letter  from  Gen.  Washington  in  reply  to  one 
of  his  own  upon  this  subject,  is  to  be  seen  now. 
But  these  hopes  all  proved  to  be  futile  and 
vain. 


HIS   LAST  DAYS.  261 

No  man  was  a  better  companion  than  Israel 
Putnam,  even  after  his  misfortune  from  the  as- 
sault of  disease.  He  was  the  life  of  every  social 
circle  of  which  he  formed  a  part,  and  as  popular 
with  all  his  friends  as  any  man  could  reasonably 
wish  to  be  considered.  He  loved  his  joke  as 
well  as  anybody  ;  and  lost  few  opportunities 
of  having  it,  even  at  the  expense  of  his  best 
friend.  He  was  nowise  indifferent  to  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  table,  but  could  always  tell  a  good 
piece  of  meat,  from  the  first  taste  of  it.  One 
of  his  descendants  told  the  writer  that  "  he  could 
play  the  knife  and  fork  as  briskly  as  a  drummer 
could  his  drumsticks."  In  all  respects,  Israel 
Putnam  was  a  hearty  man.  It  was  this  very 
quality  that  made  him  so  sincere,  so  honest,  so  de- 
voted, and  so  brave.  Such  a  man  could  have  no 
half-way  opinions;  and  what  he  honestly  thought, 
that  he  never  hesitated  to  speak  boldly  out.  To 
the  very  last  day  of  his  existence,  he  retained  the 
possession  of  all  these  marked  traits  of  char- 
acter, together  with  the  customary  brightness 
and  vigor  of  his  mental  faculties.  He  made 
friends  wherever  he  went ;  and  he  understood 
the  secret  —  if  it  is  a  secret  —  of  keeping  them. 


202  GEN.   ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

The  same  habits  of  activity  that,  had  charac- 
terized him  from  his  youth  up,  assisted  to  pre- 
serve his  health  as  long  as  it  was  preserved  to 
him  ;  and  only  a  few  weeks  before  the  final 
summons  came  to  call  him  away,  he  performed 
a  journey  on  horseback  to  Danvers,  his  birth- 
place, a  distance  of  a  hundred  miles.  But  he 
travelled  slowly,  resting  as  often  as  was  necessary 
along  on  the  road. 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty 
of  Peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  former  were 
declared  to  te  free  and  independent  States, 
Washington  addressed  a  letter  to  the  war-worn 
hero  in  his  retirement,  in  which  he  said  that 
"  among  the  many  worthy  and  meritorious  of- 
ficers with  whom  he  had  had  the  happiness  to 
be  connected  in  service  through  the  war,  and 
from  whose  cheerful  assistance  and  advice  he 
li;id  received  much  support  and  confidence,  the. 
name  of  a  Putnam  is  not  forgotten ;  nor  will  be, 
but  with  that  stroke  of  time  which  shall  oblit- 
erate from  my  mind  the  remembrance  of  all 
those  toils  and  fatigues  through  which  we  have 
struggled,  for  the  preservation  and  establishment 


HIS   LAST  DAYS.  263 

of  the  Rights,  Liberties,  and  Independence  of  our 
Country." 

Many  anecdotes  are  related  of  Gen.  Putnam, 
some  of  which  have  a  foundation  in  truth,  while 
more,  probably,  take  their  rise  only  in  the  im- 
aginations of  those  who  gave  them  the  first  start 
in  the  world.  Among  them  all,  however,  there 
is  one  which  is  quite  good  enough,  old  as  it 
may  be  to  many,  to  reproduce  in  this  biography. 
A  certain  English  officer,  who  was  a  prisoner 
on  his  parole,  or  word  of  honor,  took  mortal  of- 
fence at  some  sharp  remarks  in  which  the  Gen- 
eral had  indulged  respecting  the  British,  and 
challenged  him,  thinking  this  the  easiest  way 
to  take  satisfaction  and  correct  the  General's 
candid  opinion  at  the  same  time.  Putnam  ac- 
cepted his  braggart  challenge  without  any  hesi- 
tation, and  proposed  to  meet  him  in  the  follow- 
ing way:  —  On  the  next  morning,  they  were 
both  to  be  at  a  certain  place  by  a  specified 
hour,  and  Putnam,  who  was  the  challenged 
parly,  and  of  course  had  choice  of  them,  was 
to  provide  the  weapons.  When  the  English 
officer  arrived  at  the  place  agreed  upon,  he 
found  Putnam  seated  on  a  bench,  on  which 


264  GEN.   ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

stood  close  beside  him  a  keg  of  what  was,  to 
appearance,  powder.  A  hole  was  bored  into 
the  head,  and  a  match  had  been  thrust  into  the 
hole,  all  ready  to  be  lighted.  Putnam  removed 
his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  told  the  English- 
man to  sit  down  on  the  bench  on  the  other 
side  of  the  keg.  As  soon  as  the  latter  had 
complied,  Putnam  lit  the  match  by  his  pipe, 
and  began  to  smoke  again  with  as  much  un- 
concern as  if  there  was  no  possible  danger. 
His  opponent  sat  and  watched  the  burning  of 
the  match  as  long  as  he  could,  and  then  be- 
gan to  grow  nervous.  The  moment  the  fire 
came  near  to  the  few  grains  of  powder  that 
lay  scattered  about  on  the  head  of  the  barrel, 
the  officer  sprang  up  in  great  haste  and  ran  off 
at  the  top  of  his  speed  ! 

"  You  are  just  as  brave  a  man  as  I  thought 
you  was  !  "  exclaimed  the  triumphant  Putnam. 
"  This  is  only  a  keg  of  onions,  with  a  little 
powder  sprinkled  over  its  head,  to  try  your 
pluck  !  I  see  you  don't  like  the  smell ! " 

He  had  the  laugh  against  the  Englishman, 
who  never  forgave  him  for  the  mock  test  to 
which  he  thus  publicly  put  his  personal  courage. 


HIS    LAST   DAYS.  265 

It  is  not  necessary,  after  giving  this  connected 
narrative  of  the  life  and  services  of  a  man  like 
Israel  Putnam,  to  set  about  the  task  of  summing 
up  those  qualities  of  his  character  which  every 
reader  has  observed  for  himself  in  passing  along 
It  affords  one,  sincere  pleasure,  however,  to  know 
that  his  early  habits  of  industry  and  thrift  had 
placed  him  beyond  the  reach  of  want  in  his  old 
age,  which  unhappily  could  not  be  said  of  many 
others  of  that  band  of  patriots  to  whose  sacri- 
fices we  owe  what  we  enjoy  so  freely  to-day. 
He  had  as  pleasant  a  home  as  a  man  could  de- 
sire ;  his  large  family,  already  grown  up  and 
settled  around  him,  found  the  same  happiness 
in  his  society  that  he  did  in  theirs ;  and,  blessed 
in  all  things,  at  peace  with  the  world,  and  with 
a  soul  full  of  tranquillity,  he  came  to  his  end  at 
last  like  a  shock  of  corn  that  is  ripe  in  its  sea- 
son. 

Two  days  before  his  death,  he  was  violently 
attacked  whh  an  inflammatory  disorder,,  which 
obstinately  refused  to  yield  to  the  ordinary  rem- 
edies of  medicine ;  and  on  the  19th  day  of  May, 
in  the  year  1790,  he  passed  away  peacefully  and 
quietly,  having  reached  the  seventy-third  year 
23 


266  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

of  an  honorable  age.  His  neighbors  bore  him 
to  the  grave  with  every  manifestation  of  sin- 
cere sorrow  for  his  loss ;  and  the  news  of  his 
death  was  received  with  feelings  of  unmingled 
grief  all  over  the  country.  Thus  did  he  live  for 
seven  full  years  to  witness  and  participate  in 
the  happiness  of  the  country  whose  independ- 
ence he  had  assisted  to  achieve,  and  it  gave 
him  lasting  joy  to  know  that  the  part  he  had 
taken  in  the  struggle  was  not  a  hesitating  or 
an  inconsiderable  one.  Dr.  Whitney,  his  old 
pastor,  preached  a  discourse  appropriate  to  his 
death,  from  which  the  following  paragraph  is 
an  interesting  extract : 

"  He  was  eminently  a  person  of  public  spirit, 
an  unshaken  friend  of  liberty,  and  was  proof 
against  attempts  to  induce  him  to  betray  and 
desert  his  country.  The  baits  to  do  so  were 
rejected  with  the  utmost  abhorrence.  He  was 
of  a  kind,  benevolent  disposition;  pitiful  to  the 
distressed,  charitable  to  the  needy,  and  ready 
to  assist  all  who  wanted  his  help.  In  his  family 
IK-  was  the  tender,  affectionate  husband,  the 
provident  father,  an  example  of  industry  and 
close  application  to  business.  He  was  a  con- 


HIS   LAST  DAYS.  267 

stant  attendant  upon  the  public  worship  of  God, 
from  his  youth  up.  He  brought  his  family  with 
him,  when  he  came  to  worship  the  Lord.  He 
was  not  ashamed  of  family  religion.  His  house 
was  a  house  of  prayer.  For  many  years,  he  was 
a  professor  of  religion.  In  the  last  years  of  his 
life,  he  often  expressed  a  great  regard  for  God, 
and  the  things  of  God.  There  is  one,  at  least, 
to  whom  he  freely  disclosed  the  workings  of  his 
mind ;  his  conviction  of  sin ;  his  grief  for  it ;  his 
dependence  on  God,  through  the  Redeemer,  for 
pardon;  and  his  hope  of  a  happy  future  existence, 
whenever  his  strength  and  heart  should  fail  him. 
This  one  makes  mention  of  these  things,  for  the 
satisfaction  and  comfort  of  his  children  and 
friends  ;  and  can  add,  that,  being  with  the 
General  a  little  before  he  died,  he  asked  him 
whether  his  hope  of  future  happiness,  as  for- 
merly expressed,  now  attended  him.  His  an- 
swer was  in  the  affirmative ;  with  a  declaration 
of  his  resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  his 
willingness  even  then  to  die." 

He  left  a  large  family,  whose  descendants  live 
to  honor  the  name  of  their  ancestor  in  all  parts 
of  our  common  country.  The  various  relics 


268  GEN.  ISRAEL  PUTNAM. 

which  bring  up  his  personal  connection  with 
the  French  and  Indian,  and  the  Revolutionary 
War,  are  preserved  with  sacred  solicitude. 
Among  these  are  the  pistols  of  Major  Pitcairn, 
with  one  of  which  the  latter  opened  the.  Revo- 
lution on  Lexington  Green. 

The  dust  of  the  old  Hero  lies  in  the  little 
burying-ground  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  — 
which  village  was  once  a  part  of  Pomfret, 
—  and  there  mingles  peacefully  with  the  soil. 
The  tomb,  —  a  brick-structure,  upon  which  rests 
a  weather-browned  slab,  —  is  fast  going  to  de- 
cay, and  sacrilegious  hands  have  chipped  off 
pieces  of  the  marble  slab  to  carry  away  as  tri- 
fling memorials.  The  State  of  Connecticut,  how- 
ever, has  pledged  herself  to  aid  generously  in  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  monument,  to  be  placed 
upon  the  open  green  of  the  village,  where  all 
who  pass  may  be  reminded  of  the  man  whose 
labors  and  sacrifices  brought  them  so  priceless 
a  legacy.  Upon  the  present  fast-fading  slab  that 
crowns  the  dilapidated  vault,  is  to  be  traced  the 
following  feeling  and  highly  appropriate  inscrip- 
tion, from  the  pen  of  his  friend  and  companion  in 
the  army,  Dr.  Dwight,  President  of  Yale  College: 


HIS    LAST  DAYS.  269 

SACRED  BE  THIS  MONUMENT, 
to  the  memory 

of 
ISRAEL     PUTNAM,     ESQUIRE, 

Senior  Major-General  in  the  armies 
of 

the  United  States  of  America  • 

who 

was  born  at  Salem, 

in  the  Province  of  Massachusetts, 

on  the  7th  day  of  January, 

A.  D.  1718, 

and  died 

on  the  19th  day  of  May, 
A.  D.  1790. 


PASSENGER, 

if  thou  art  a  soldier, 
drop  a  tear  over  the  dust  of  a  Hero, 

who, 
ever  attentive 

to  the  lives  and  happiness  of  his  men, 

dared  to  lead 
where  any  dared  to  follow ; 

if  a  Patriot, 
remember  the  distinguished  and  gallant  services 

rendered  thy  country 

by  the  Patriot  who  sleeps  beneath  this  marble ; 

if  thou  art  honest,  generous  and  worthy, 

render  a  cheerful  tribute  of  respect 

to  a  man, 

whose  generosity  was  singular, 
whose  honesty  was  proverbial ; 

who 
raised  himself  to  universal  esteem, 

and  offices  of  eminent  distinction, 
by  personal  worth 

and  a 
useful  life. 

23* 


270  GEN.    ISRAEL   PUTNAM. 

The  brave  old  man,  who  never  knew  the 
meaning  of  fear,  sleeps  quietly  in  this  limriblr 
grave.  A  devious  path  has  been  worn  among 
the  hillocks  of  the  little  yard,  by  the  feet  of 
those  who  have  come,  year  after  year,  to  look 
upon  his  last  resting  place.  On  the  still  sum- 
mer afternoons,  the  crickets  chirp  mournfully 
in  the  long  wild  grass,  and  the  southerly  brer/r 
wails  in  the  belt  of  pines  that  neighbor  upon 
the  spot.  The  associations  are  all  of  a  thought- 
ful sadness.  But  it  is  good  for  one  to  visit  the 
graves  ot  the  heroes  who  have  departed,  where 
he  may  kindle  anew  that  sentiment  of  patriot- 
ism, without  which  he  can  become  neither  an 
estimable  citizen  nor  a  noble  man. 


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